


Ask Me Again Tomorrow

by Darksknight



Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: The Original Series
Genre: Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, First Meetings, Jewish Amanda Grayson, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-13
Updated: 2018-09-07
Packaged: 2019-02-14 05:21:11
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 46,845
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13000725
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Darksknight/pseuds/Darksknight
Summary: “There is no one exactly like you. You are completely unique. There are, perhaps, those similar to you. But none who are as you are. It is you whom I wish to marry. Not someone who shares your characteristics.”





	1. Chapter 1

The problem with Starfleet was that they tried to fit everything in at once. Take that how you will--but Starfleet was infamous for trying to mix every kind of business into one event in the name of efficiency. Amanda, personally, believed that to be a load of forshak, but as she had been so politely reminded, she was only a linguist-- not a Starfleet admiral with a few planets on her plate.

The hotel they’d been put up in was the same place the conferences were to be taking place, and as such, Amanda was stuck on the turbolift, arms straining to hold the very heavy box full of parts she was carrying. Her partners were scattered about the building, so there was no one to help her, and with the way the lift kept stopping at every floor, she was beginning to think she may have fared better cutting her losses and braving the stairs. 

_Too late now_. She was crammed into the back of the lift, and she’d already been pinned as the guest who’d pushed the button for floor thirty-two. Shoving to the front of the lift to get off any sooner than that would just be an embarrassment. 

Though, that was starting to look like the better arrangement, with the way her arms were beginning to ache.

The higher the lift went, the less frequently it stopped, as they’d finally cleared the conference and recreation floors. She was alone first with a Beltine woman who had a large bag that smelled heavily of doroth--an herb pleasantly close to basil. 

Then the woman got off, and Amanda was alone in the elevator. 

She sighed and bent down to relieve herself of the box for the rest of the way up. It was then, of course, that the lift came to a sudden stop once again. She sighed, hoping it was some sort of mistake. If not, she begged for it to be a small party so that she could just leave her damned carry-on sitting on the floor while she gave her muscles a break. She wasn’t week by any measure of the imagination, but god, those parts were heavy. 

The doors to the lift slid open and a group in long, flowing robes entered. She felt her brows shoot up as she recognized the design- she looked up to the faces of the people entering to confirm her theory and, yes, they were Vulcan. 

Vulcan. Oh, how she’s _longed_ to get her hands on an actual, honest Vulcan for the translator. The best she’d had were official texts and translations, but a real, speaking Vulcan would be-

“Tor nash riolozhikaik komihn ri fai-tor wuh ret au nem-tor?”

Amanda blinked. She looked down at her box, which the Vulcans- five of them- had stepped purposefully around with obvious distaste. The word _riolozhikaik_ stood out above all else; to be called illogical by a Vulcan was… well, probably devastating. Though, to her, it meant very little.

_Does this illogical human not know the space they take?_

Composed, Amanda picked the box up off the floor and stood in the corner. There; she had herself out of the way, even if her arms were screaming at her for it. 

And yet, the Vulcan continued to talk--in Vulcan, of course, most likely believing that like most humans, she couldn’t understand him. “Look, she is flushed, and perspiring. Humans continue to display no control over their bodies.”

That confirmed a few rumors about Vulcan anatomy, at the very least. She kept her eyes pointed straight ahead, listening for more. If this man would just continue to talk, unwise to her understanding, she could gather a good amount of research pain-free.

“Is she fevered? How completely unsightly.”

Well, relatively pain-free. She had very little ego, but her pride was something else. 

Amanda stood a little straighter, ignoring her tired arms as she put up what she knew to be a display of perfect posture. Her head scarf fell into her eyes, but she didn’t pay it any mind--she stared straight ahead, jaw set firmly and defiantly. Any other time, she would speak up, but the chance that he might stop conversing in his mother tongue was too great. This was the chance of a life-time. 

One of the two women in the group spoke up. “She is biologically inferior. Do not hold it against her.”

Amanda clenched her jaw. _Chance of a lifetime,_ she reminded herself. Imagining the look on Lee’s face when Amanda told her that she’d collected field data whilst on her way up to their room was enough to strengthen her conviction to remain silent.

“Look at her eyes. So full of emotion. How is it they live this way? It is unseemly as it is barbaric.”

Ah, so _that_ was how they pronounced _por’sen_! Her hands itched to ditch the box again to pull her PADD from the bag slung over her shoulder--she had an excellent memory, but if she could only take some notes...

“Does she know she is staring?”

“All humans are thus. Rude, but it is not for us to correct.”

“If she behaves like a child, I shall correct her as if she were a child.”

“Suvok, I do not think you could explain to her in such simplistic terms so that she might understand.” 

“I see your point. However-“ They continued on. 

Amanda listened keenly, removed completely from the insults they were dealing her. Little did they know that the ‘inferior’ human was getting exactly what every Vulcan she’d communicated with up until then had denied her; a chance to study the language in person. 

She couldn’t have prayed for that kind of luck. 

The Vulcan standing next to her had yet to speak. She shifted her box and looked up at him, feeling his eyes on the top of her head. He was looking down at her, curious, but without the sort of mightier-than-though attitude of his colleagues. He met her eyes, unflinchingly, for a heavy three seconds. He turned easily away from her gaze and back to his party.

Amanda continued to study him from beneath her scarf.

“I think you will find,” he said, suddenly, “that it is universally distasteful to discuss others while they are present.”

They all looked back to him. 

“She cannot understand us,” said Suvok. “It is as if one were to talk about a boulder in its supposed company.”

The Vulcan to her left arched up a single, strong brow.“You assume much,” he said. “In this case, you may find what you believe to be contradictory to the truth.”

The four other Vulcans whipped their heads around to stare at Amanda. 

Well, she'd gotten what she could.Despite never having spoken Vulcan to a native, she’d lost the 'first-contact' nerves years ago. “Well,” she said, in what she believed to be a close mimic of their accent, “at least one of you is keeping the reputation of Vulcan intelligence alive.” 

The lift came to a stop, dinging softly. 

She dipped her head and stepped between the company of frozen Vulcans, slipping gracefully out of the lift. 

“Good day,” she said. 

The doors slid closed behind her. 

 

 

* * *

"I still don't understand where you got all of this." 

Amanda looked up at Lee, who was sitting across the table from her, and grinned. "Eves-dropping, of course."

"Our 'Manda? Doing something so dastardly? I bet," Lee scoffed. "No, really,  _how_?"

Amanda laughed and pulled her PADD back towards herself, opening her messenger bag to put it away. "Carefully, Lee, you'll spill mustard all of my precious research."

"Lamar and Simone are never going to believe this," she sighed. "I stand by my earlier theory--you ran into a handsome Starfleet delegate that studied on Vulcan for years upon years, and they poured their very heart and soul out to you on the spot."

"Which would explain why I collected so many insults to translate," Amanda laughed. "No, it was the Vulcan group."

Lee raised her brow, craning her head to look around Amanda. The Vulcan delegation sat a few tables away, a bleak spot of muted color and zero conversation. Lee turned her attention back to Amanda. "Them? Really? They don't look the type to offer up information."

"Looks can be misleading," Amanda chastised.

Lee gave her a look.

Amanda laughed. "Alright, alright, they just started talking. I let them think I had no idea what they were saying."

"And the truth comes out," Lee sighed, drastically. She glanced up over Amanda's shoulder again. “Don’t look now, but that Vulcan is staring at you.”

“Lots of people are staring at me,” Amanda said, and dipped hear head back down towards her soup. “Don’t look now, but there’s a human woman staring at me, sitting right across from me.” 

Lee cracked a smile. “I’m serious. He’s like. Boring a hole in the back of your head.”

"Well, I did leave the lift only after dropping a pretty brutal one-liner,” she mused. “I have a feeling they weren’t too keen to be wrong-footed.”

“He doesn’t look pissed,” Lee said. “More like… curious.”

“Vulcans aren’t supposed to look pissed,” Amanda reminded her. 

“Fine, don’t look look then.”

“I won’t,” Amanda said. She reached for her glass of water. Despite what she’d said, she tried to see behind her with the reflection in the glass. It was no use--just a bunch of colorful blobs, dancing around on the surface of her cup. 

“Cheese and crackers,” Lee hissed. “He’s coming this way!” 

“What?” Amanda did turn her head, then, just in time to meet eyes with the Vulcan who’d spoken up for her in the lift. She’d never gotten his name. “Oh,” she said, blinking. “It’s you.”

He dipped his head. His black hair caught the light, seeming almost to shine. “Dr. Grayson,” he said. 

She raised her brows. “You know me.”

“Indeed. I have neglected to introduce myself. I am Sarek, Vulcan ambassador to Earth.” 

She’d heard of him. The new, young ambassador. He was a member of the house of Surak, and rumored to be related to T’Pau of the same house, and thus was very powerful; more so than an Ambassador would have already been. The question was- what did he want with her? 

“Yes,” she said, “I’ve heard of you. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“A pleasure?” He echoed. 

She grinned. “A figure of speech, but there’s some truth to it. Won’t you sit?”

To her surprise, he did. He took the chair next to her, neatly folding his hands over his lap--back ramrod straight. He could have been a statue if it weren’t for the life in his eyes. 

Lee spoke up. “I’m Doctor Lee Zhao, xenolinguist.”

He turned towards her. “It is… a pleasure to meet you.”

Lee laughed. 

“Attempting human relations, Ambassador?” Amanda asked. 

“Yes,” he said, surprising her yet again. “I believe you would be most beneficial company, in this manner.” 

“Ah, so you’ve come to pick my brain for human communications, hm?” She laughed, softly. “Well, I would like to help you, Ambassador, but I’m afraid I’m terribly busy.”

“I am well aware of the magnitude of duties you are expected to perform,” Sarek said. “I was, however, lead to believe that I might enact a ‘trade,’ with you.”

“A trade?” She laughed. “Mr. Sarek, I’m afraid you might have been mislead. Humans don’t use currency anymore.” 

“Speak for yourself,” Lee said. She stood, though, as her watch chirped at her. “Manda, I’ve got to run- panel on mass production of tech opens in-“

“You go ahead,” Amanda said, waving her off with a smile. 

“I’ll see you later.” Lee grinned and took her plate, disappearing into the crowd of Starfleet uniforms, her blue hair a light spot of color amongst the red cadet uniforms. 

Amanda turned back to Sarek. “I’m really very sorry, but-“

“I was not speaking of currency,” he said. “It came to my attention in the turbo lift that you are still studying Vulcan.” 

She raised her brows. “Was my accent that bad?”

“No. You spoke rather well, for an off-worlder. You were very obviously studying my colleagues when they spoke. I inferred that perhaps you do not have a direct source from which to study the Vulcan language. I speak multiple dialects.”

Amanda stared at him for a second, processing what he’d said. “Oh,” she said, finally.

“Would this be an acceptable form of payment for your services?”

“Ah… what is it that you want me to do, Mr. Sarek?”

“My name is Sarek, not Mister.” Sarek informed her. 

“Ambassador, then.” 

He seemed to find that satisfactory. “As ambassador to Earth, it is important that I understand how to communicate with humans without misunderstanding. This is proving to be… more difficult than first assumed, due to the amount of metaphor and simile humans use in their language. Amongst other things.” 

“Amongst other things,” Amanda mused. “Well… as I said, I am terrible busy. But… I don’t see why I couldn’t afford to fit you in my schedule.” 

“What hours are you free?”

“During the conference? Oh, dear, I’m afraid you’ve about been there for all of them.”

He raised a brow. 

“Right. Ah, for meals, and then, in the evenings. What is your comm? We can set up appointments?” 

“That would be acceptable.” He pulled his comm unit from off his robes and nudged it towards Amanda. 

She picked it up and touched it to the one she was wearing on her shirt, adding him to her contacts. She slid his unit back over, careful to avoid touching him. He felt… almost unreal. Like if she were to reach out and poke him, she’d pass right through him. Two beings from two different worlds, two different realities. It was an odd feeling--to believe, even in an obscure way, that they were from totally different realms of existence. She was certain she was the only one between them that felt that way—it was too impractical for the Ambassador to even think, most likely.

“Well,” Amanda said, just as her PADD began to chime in her shoulder bag. “It’s been a pleasure, but I’m afraid I have to be going now.”

“Afraid?” He asked. “You are fearful?”

“Lesson number one,” Amanda said, standing. “If it has to do with fear, it’s most likely a metaphor. Us humans very rarely admit to be afraid of anything at all. That said. The xenoculture panel is terrifying, and they will be even more so if I’m late.”

She hurried off on her way, aware of the way his eyes followed her. She couldn’t help but smile--for all that she’d heard of Vulcans having no personality, he was a rather interesting man—she might even say fascinating. 

 

* * *

 

The day was a blur of meetings and stand-up advertising, where she tried convince rooms full of people who knew nothing about her project that it was defiantly going to be worth their while, and that it was just as incredible as it sounded. Real time conversion of language, in the brain. There were plenty of people who were skeptical, and most of those people didn’t have the technical knowledge of either the Broca’s area of the brain nor the technology of the translator to be argued with. 

By the time she was leaving her last conference, Amanda was dead on her feet. She knew Lee was in the same condition by the lack of exclamation points in her comm messages, so she was resigned to dinner in their room. She was thinking they’d change into their pajamas and open a bottle of wine, maybe communicate exclusively with grunts so as to conserve what little energy they had left.

When she got up to the room, Lee was already inside, along with Lamar and Simone. They’d cracked open a bottle of brute without her, but she couldn’t blame them. Each and every one of them looked completely wrung out. 

“Fellow associates,” Amanda said, walking in. She dropped her bag on the end of the bed she was sharing with Lee and dropped onto the covers, still fully dressed. 

“Shh,” Simone said. “Headache.” 

“Entschuldigung,” Amanda whispered. She kicked off her shoes and, shortly after that, her pants. She rolled over to the side of the bed and found her open suitcase, pulling out some sweatpants and worming into them. 

Much better. 

Lamar was fiddling with the monster of parts that the prototype of the universal translator was. He and Simone where in charge of the tech side of things, for the most part, while Amanda and Lee were the linguistics behind it. They had a few other people on their team working on it, but they were the representatives that had been invited to the conference by Starfleet. If they were lucky, some admiral or department would see their translator and immediately start jonesing for it. If that happened, they would finally have a whole team to work on it, as well as the resources they so desperately needed to finish it.

If not, Amanda was going to be stuck teaching Standard to kindergarten kids for the rest of her life. It wasn’t the worst fate one could be dealt, but she couldn’t help but feel like she was meant for more. Her invention was the stuff of fantasy- something that would push relations and first contact years and years ahead. If she had her way, then the translator would be integrated into, well, just about everyone. Open communication would be easy and open, and more than that, Starfleet would be able to catalog languages just by having people equipped with the translator out in the field. It would record and intemperate languages in real time, learning them and adding to the database. 

Though, again. It all hinged on Starfleet. 

She had a good feeling about it. Already, several big heads had showed their interest in it. Still, there was that background fear, that no matter how hard she tried, her project would never get off the ground. It was usually easy to ignore, but after a day of tireless fighting, she was staring to wonder. 

There was a knock at the door. 

“Did Lee lock herself out?” Amanda asked. 

“She’s in the shower,” Lamar said. “Should I get it?” He looked rather involved in what he was working on. So did Simone. 

“No,” Amanda sighed, and stood back on her aching feet. “I’ll get it.”

She padded over to the door and pulled it open. As soon as she did, she remembered something she’d been forgetting. “Oh! Ambassador!” 

“Dr. Grayson.”

She rubbed the back of her neck. “I’m so sorry--I completely forgot. Um…” She looked over her shoulder. The hotel room was a mess, and any minute, Lee would be out of the shower. She most likely wouldn’t appreciate being a show for the Vulcan Ambassador. 

“If you are unable to host our meeting in your room, mine is acceptable.”

She perked up. “Your roommates won’t mind?”

He raised a brow. “I do not have any roommates.”

Amanda nodded. She looked down at herself- her nice top and jacket, plus Tichel, with her crappy, stained sweats. The Ambassador had already see them, though, and he didn’t seem to care in the slightest. “Let me get my shoes on.” 

She turned as soon as he nodded his consent. 

“Who was that?” Simone asked. 

“No one,” Amanda said. She grabbed her shoes and socks and started to put them on.

“No one?”

“Well,” she grunted as she pushed her foot into her shoe. “Not no one. Uh, he’s the- uh. The Vulcan Ambassador.”

Lamar’s head shot up. “What!?”

“I'll see you guys later.”

"Now hold on one damn second-"

She slipped out of the door and into the hall, where Sarek was waiting. 

She smiled at him. “Lead on, Ambassador.” 

They walked to the lift in silence. Sarek entered the floor number in silence. And when they arrived at the floor, they walked on in silence. 

Amanda didn’t mind. The silence wasn’t awkward. In her experience, you could learn nearly as much about a person from their silence as you could from their words. Half of communication was in the body- the way someone moved, the way someone looked at you. Deciphering an alien’s body language was just as challenging as discovering what their words meant. 

They reached the door to Sarek’s room. He pressed his hand to the lock and granted them admission. The moment they stepped inside the room Amanda felt her eyes widen slightly, impressed immediately by the apparent status Sarek had in the federation. 

The walls were navy blue and silver-gray. The furniture was white and gray; sleek and soft. The lights were set to approximately seventy five percent, casting the room a warm sort of glow. She noticed, as they stepped inside, how hot it was. She shrugged off her formal jacket and held it to her chest, looking around the room.

“Tea?” Sarek ghosted past her, towards the kitchenette. 

“Oh. Yes, please.” Amanda wandered over to the glass table near the kitchen. It was small, almost homely. Amanda let out a low whistle at the view--the table was stationed next to a tall window, overlooking the glittering city of San Fransisco. 

Her team hadn’t been given a room with a window view. She hadn’t realized just how high up they were in the hotel--far, far below, hovercars made lines of blinking lights, flittering down the streets. She leaned into the glass and watched.

Sarek set a mug down in front of Amanda. She turned and took the cup up to her mouth, breathing in the steam. It was unfamiliar, and spicy--almost like a combination of cinnamon and Cheyenne. She set it back down on the table to cool. 

“So,” she turned to Sarek. “What is it you had in mind?”

“You are a language expert, and a teacher,” Sarek said. “You must know then, how to teach langauge.”

“Teach language? Certainly.” She laughed. “How to understand humans in general? That’s sort of a learned practice, really. I’m sure that if I had some… time, I don’t know, to prepare, I could put together some sort of material on figurative language. But I don’t know about just doing this sort of thing on the fly like this.”

“On the fly.”

She grinned. “You haven’t heard the one before? It means as improvisation.” 

“I see.”

She look a sip of her tea. Her face instantly scrunched up. She forced herself to swallow, but it was a chore. The tea was incredibly bitter--the spice barely registered through the tart taste. It wasn’t sour, but it reminded her vaguely of lemon peals. It was bizarre--she had never tasted anything exactly like it. 

Probably because no one on Earth would ingest such a thing. 

“You are displeased,” Sarek said. 

“You noticed,” she joked. She set the cup down. “It’s… different.”

“You do not have to drink it.”

She shook her head. Now that the tea was no longer in her mouth, there was an aftertaste. It was something much more mellow, and it tasted… good. Strange, but good. The taste brought to mind the image of beige clay. She wasn’t sure why, but when she tried to think of the flavor, that was all her mind was willing to supply. “I’ll manage,” she said. She took another sip—much smaller, the second time. 

Sarek watched her, as if waiting for her to keel over and die. 

“It’s… it’s different,” she said again. 

“You said so before. I have not forgotten.” 

“It’s all I can really think to say. I don’t hate it,” she took another experimental sip.

“You do not have to force yourself to drink it. I will not be offended.”

“No, no. I want to.” 

They drank in silence for a time. 

“Let me think,” Amanda started after a time. “I’m sure I could explain a good amount of this to you. You seem like a sharp guy.” She grinned. “That’s a metaphor.” 

“Sharp has variable definitions. Do you mean smart, or attractive?” 

“I believe you should be able to figure that out yourself,” she said. “If you are as sharp as I think you are.”

“Intelligent, then,” Sarek said. 

It wasn’t hard to use her PADD to form a list of literate terms. Sarek ensured her she never had to say anything twice--he had a perfect memory and wouldn’t forget anything that she said. That was promising. All she had to worry about was the fact that where the translator to fail, and she did have to go back to teaching children, she’d have to revise her strategy. 

Sarek was fascinating. A man of practicality, he was distant and curious both at once. He seemed more than anything to desire knowledge, and unlike his fellow Vulcans, didn’t seem to find his ‘source’ distasteful. 

They talked mostly in Vulcan. Amanda gave him history to phrasing and metaphor while he corrected her pronunciation and grammar; though she was delighted to note there was not too much to correct. She took notes, glad that she had the ability after being stuck in the lift silently listening and hoping not to forget.

“Why,” he asked, at one point, “Do humans use metaphor?”

“Why?” She laughed a little. “Why not?”

“It is confusing. You say things that have different meanings than their literal translation. Why not say you are giving someone a pleading look? Why must you say that you are giving ‘puppy-dog’ eyes? It does not make sense.”

“It’s… fuller,” Amanda said. “More colorful. It’s a way of expressing our inner psyche, the way we think. Why would I give you a pleading look when most humans cannot possibly hope to withstand the pleading look of a puppy? Wouldn’t I want to compare myself to that thing, to show that what I am doing is more than a simple look of hope? When I say I’m big, I’m six feet tall. When I say I’m tall as a mountain, I’m six feet tall and I have the presence to go with it. If I’m cheerful, I smile. If I brighten up the room, my smile makes other people smile, it’s so cheery. Do you understand?”

“It is all rooted in emotion,” Sarek said. “Something I admittedly do not understand.”

“Oh surely you understand a little. Draw from your own experience.” 

He raised a brow. He seemed to do that a lot. “I have no such experience to draw from, Dr. Grayson, as I do not experience emotional response.”

“What?” She let out a small laugh. “You--you claim not to have any emotions at all?”

“It is not a claim. It is the truth.”

She tilted her head to the side. “Surely you feel something.” 

“I have repressed any emotions I might have been burdened with in order to adhere myself completely to logic.”

She regarded him for a moment, searchingly. “If you don’t have any emotions,” she said, slowly, “Why’d you stick up for me? In the lift, the other day?”

“It was only logical,” he said, as if he’d been waiting for that question exactly. 

“Logic,” she mused, smiling. “Of course.” 

* * *

 

Amanda stared at her oatmeal. She was missing out on conversation between Lamar, Simone, and Lee—conversation that was most likely extremely interesting and informed. She couldn’t find it within herself to care. 

She was daydreaming about climbing into a warm, soft bed. If she could just close her eyes for a couple of minutes, maybe-

“Amanda. Amanda? Amanda!”

“What?” She whipped her head up. Her team was staring at her. “What?”

Lamar cracked a grin. “This is ground control to Major Tom," he sang. 

“That's Doctor Tom, to you," she said. "Did you need something, or can I eat my oatmeal in peace?”

“Eat it? You’ve been staring it into submission for the last five minutes,” Simone joked. “You okay there?”

“I’m very tired,” Amanda admitted. 

“When did you get back last night?” Lee asked. “I didn’t even feel you get into bed.”

The truth was that Amanda had fallen asleep at Sarek’s table. He’d begun to talk about the history of his house, to give her a good sample of High Vulcan, and his steady, deep voice had lulled her to sleep. For some ‘logical’ reasons beyond her, he hadn’t waken her up. She’d jerked awake at his table a couple of hours before breakfast, barely managing to make it to her room to shower and get dressed before the others could wake up to find she was missing. 

“Late,” she said. 

“You were joking about the guy being the Vulcan Ambassador, right?”

“No." She said. Almost as an after-thought, she added, "He’s been very useful.” 

Simon and Lamar turned to each other, mischievously wiggling their brows in union. 

“I don’t know what you’re thinking,” Amanda said, slowly, “But cease this instant.”

“Cease? That sounds like a word a Vulcan might use.” 

Amanda smiled despite herself. “Just wait until you see my notes. Then you’ll know all sorts of words that Vulcans might use. You won’t believe how educated this man is, what I’m doing is hardly fair. I only clear up ‘see you later, alligator,’ and he gives me the history of the Shi’Kahr dialect.” 

They all three stared at her, starry eyed. 

“How did you manage to swing that?” Lamar sighed. 

“He offered, actually. As the ambassador to Earth, he needs to understand how humans communicate.”

“Isn’t it hard to teach someone who thinks he knows everything?” Simone asked. “I’ve seen the other Vulcans around. They’re very… well, nose-up.”

“Haughty, more like,” Lee sighed. “I can’t imagine spending my free time with one.”

“The Ambassador is different. More grounded.”

Lee reached her hand across the table. “Let’s see if your notes compare.”

Amanda opened her messenger bag and produced her PADD, sliding it over to her partner. Lamar and Simone leaned over to see for themselves, all with wide, eager eyes and big smiles. 

“Leapin' lizards, ‘Manda,” Lee said. “This is some good stuff.”

“He was very helpful,” Amanda said. She focused on her oatmeal and forced herself to take a bite. She only had a little bit of time left before the next conference, where she’d have to fight yet another battle for her invention. If she was lucky, she’d get the attention of some curios Andorians who wanted to see how it worked; she didn’t have their language fully integrated yet. 

She scraped along the sides of her bowl, hurrying to finish while her team poured over her research notes. Tired and distracted as she was, they had to call her name a few times in order to get her attention again. 

“Hm?” She looked back up at Lee, blinking tiredly.

She laughed, lightly. “Daydreaming? How unlike you!”

“Daydreaming?” Amanda wondered out loud. “I haven’t got time for daydreaming. I'm _planning_.”

“That sounds more like the Amanda I know,” Lee said. 

“So was he?” Simone asked. 

“Was he what? I wasn’t listening to you three.”

Simone rolled her eyes. “Cute. Was he cute?”

“Whom?”

Simone threw her hands up in the air. “I give up.”

“The Ambassador,” Lamar helped. “We’ve heard the rumors.”

“Rumors?”

“Rumor has it,” Simone helped, “That the Vulcan Ambassador to Earth is a babe.”

Amanda thought about it for a second. “I suppose he isn’t bad looking.” She hadn’t really considered wether or not he was attractive at all. The only thing she had noticed was that, “He has an attractive voice.” 

“Yep,” Lee chuckled. “That’s Amanda.” 

She smiled, a little. “What? I was listening to him speak, not trying to determine if he should be a model. That’s not my job.” 

“Half your job is body language,” Lamar pointed out. 

“Yes, and if Vulcans tended to say anything with their facial features, I believe they might be expelled from the planet.” She nodded to herself. “Yes, that would be a show of emotion. No, no, it’s all in the shoulders. The Ambassador only makes expressions every now and then, and it’s always to raise his eyebrow, which is usual very self-evident. You want to know what a Vulcan is saying, you have to size up their shoulders, see how loose or tight they are. It’s really very fascinating, actually.”

“I’m sure it is,” Lee laughed. 

“We’ll have to see him for ourselves,” Simone decided. 

Lamar said, “Bring him back to our hotel room tonight, if you’re going to meet him.”

“We’re meeting for lunch, actually.” Amanda looked at her watch and frowned. “I’ve got to go. Give me my PADD back.” 

They groaned in unison, but forked the tablet back over. Amanda stood and pushed it back into her bag, taking her dishes. “You three all have places to be, too—I should know, I arranged your schedules.”

“Yes, Boss,” Simone groaned. 

“Hey, Amanda!” Lamar called. 

She paused, turning around. “Yes?” 

“Snag a picture of the Ambassador for us, will you?”

She though it about it. The request seemed reasonable enough. “Alright!” She called. She gave a little wave. “I’ll see you all tonight. Good luck!” 

 

* * *

 

As soon as she entered the Ambassador’s quarters she shed her jacket and rolled her sleeves up. It hadn’t been her imagination the night before--the place was maddeningly hot. She should have guessed it would be—Vulcan wasn’t exactly the tundra. 

“Hello?” She called. Smiling a little, she added, “Tonk’peh?”

Her chime had been answered, so Sarek had to be in. Still, the main area was empty. He must have been finishing something up in his bedroom. That was fine with Amanda—she had never been one to be catered on. 

She moved to the kitchenette, almost jealous when she thought about her own cramped room with her team was lacking such accommodations. Still, beggars couldn’t be choosers—another metaphor she would have to introduce Sarek too. 

She opened the fridge to see what she had to work with. The hotel had provided many close approximations to Vulcan food, but almost everything was from Earth. And vegetarian, she noticed. That was fine, she wasn’t too big on meat herself. 

There was an egg carton that was completely untouched. She pulled it and a few other ingredients out and began to make herself an omelet. She’d clean up after herself and replace anything Sarek needed, but there was no way she was waiting who-knew how long for him to conclude his business. She was starving. 

By the time she was sliding her omelet onto a plate, Sarek emerged from his bedroom. He looked exactly as he always did--stoney faced and carefully put together. Still, his tardiness was telling. She smiled lightly at him. 

“Rough meeting?” 

He looked at her. He looked at the plate she was holding. He looked at the omelet. 

“I made myself lunch. I hope it doesn’t bother you. You’re not vegan, are you?”

“I am not,” he said. He took several steps forward. “What is that?”

“This?” She gestured to her plate. Sarek nodded. “It’s an omelet. You’ve never had one?”

“I have not.” 

“Here, try it.” 

He raised a brow. “You prepared it for yourself.”

“I can make another. Unless you don’t want to try it.”

He thought on her proposal for a moment. He took the last few steps forward and took the plate from her. Amanda passed him a fork. 

He considered the plate with a critical eye. 

Amanda didn’t feel the need to watch him for a reaction. He’d tell he what he thought of it. She moved back to the pan and started to make another one, listening for Sarek’s familiar voice. 

There was a light clink as the fork connected with the plate, and then silence again. Amanda smiled a little to herself, knowing Sarek was likely trying the flavor. She looked up at him as he swallowed. “Well?”

“It is… very flavorful.” 

“Do you think it’s too strong?”

“It is not too strong. It is simply different than what I am accustomed to.” He took another bite. 

She laughed. “You don’t have to force yourself to eat it.” 

“It is not completely unpleasant,” he decided. 

She’d take that as a compliment. 

Soon, her lunch was ready as well. She sat at the table with Sarek, largely ignoring him to eat. Her feet were sore from all the standing, pacing, walking, and running she’d done throughout the day. She still hadn’t worn her ‘fancy’ shoes in, just yet, and they were due to give her blisters. 

“Have you had a pleasant day?” Sarek asked. 

She shrugged a shoulder. “It’s been alright. Busy—very busy. But alright.” She looked up at him, quirking the corner of her mouth up. “Are you practicing small talk on me?”

“I believe you are supposed to ask if I have had a pleasant day as well.” 

She laughed a little. “Well, where are my manners? Ambassador, have you had a pleasant day?”

“My day has been acceptable,” Sarek said. He turned back to eating his omelet, methodically. 

“Usually, small talk goes on a little longer than that,” Amanda said. “We could discuss the weather.” 

“It is twenty-one point six-six-six-seven degrees celsius. There is minor cloud cover.”

“Well. That there is, Ambassador. Would you consider it good weather?”

“It is weather. I cannot be either good or bad.”

“How about this, then,” she said. “Is it pleasant weather?”

He seemed to think about it for a moment. “It is colder than Vulcan,” he said, eventually. 

That was something. “Do you miss Vulcan?” 

“Miss it?”

She nodded. 

“That would be illogical.”

“I’ll take that as a no.” She grinned. She finished up her omelette and pushed her plate away from herself. Sarek had finished by then, too, so all that was left between them was conversation. She switched over to Vulcan. “Where are your friends, today?”

“Friends?”

“Your fellow Vulcans.”

“I would not know,” he said. 

She nodded. “Did you all come here together?”

“Yes.”

“And will you leave together?”

“Unknown.”

She nodded again. 

“What does it mean when the feline is out of its satchel?”

She furrowed her eyebrows. “What?” 

“It is something I heard today. I would have researched it privately, but I was under the impression that you would be able to explain the meaning to me.”

She was silent for a second. Then it hit her. Barely managing to hold back her laughter, she said, “Do you mean… the cat’s out of the bag?”

“Yes,” he said. “That is the phrase.” 

“It means the secret is out. Or, rather, what once was a secret no longer is. And why wouldn’t we just say that the secret has been revealed? Well, the imagery is better when you imagine the secret as a living, willful thing, which may be violent—and to imagine that creature escaping from confines it never belonged in, to begin with. It sort of… sheds light on the nature of secrets as a whole, wouldn’t you agree?”

“Hm,” he said, which wasn’t an agreement at all. It wasn’t a disagreement, either, though, so she allowed it to slide. 

They talked on for a while. He caught on fast—faster than she would have ever expected. She knew she was ruining herself for teaching by having found the perfect pupil. And, for that matter, she was ruining herself as a student, as well—she doubted that any professor could match the way Sarek explained his language to her, straight-forward and precise. He was a wealth of knowledge without the heavy weight of a scholar’s ego. Or a Vulcan’s, for that matter. 

As with the night before, time flew by, and before she knew it, her watch was chiming to urge her along to her next appointment. She was surprised to find herself disappointed that their time together was already at an end. 

“I will escort you out,” Sarek said, and even though there was no inflection in his voice, he managed to convey that he was only doing so because it was common human mannerism. 

“Oh! Before I forget!” She fumbled at her bag, pulling her PADD out. “I know this is odd, but may I take a holo with you?”

He raised a brow. 

“My team wants to know what you look like.” 

For a moment, she thought he would refuse. But then he dipped his head. “Very well.”

“Grazie,” she said. She opened up the PADD’s photo function and lifted it up, scooting a little closer to the Ambassador. She couldn’t very well take a picture of him standing alone; it would have been awkward.

She smiled. 

He did not. 

She snapped the picture and then closed the PADD, slipping it back into her bag. “Thank you again,” she said. 

“You did not thank me before,” he said. 

“Old-Earth,” she said. “Italian. Grazie. It means thank you.”

He showed her to the door. “Thanks are unnecessary.” 

“Well, that shall be my last lesson for today,” Amanda said, slyly. “Thanks may be unnecessary, but they are almost always appreciated.” 

With that, she took her leave. 

 

* * *

 

When she entered the hotel room that night, it was to chaos. 

Lamar and Lee were standing on one of the beds, screaming at one another. PADDS and parts and clothes alike were scattered all over the room, and Simone was frantically digging through her suite-case, flinging underwear and socks behind her in muted fury. There was a smell like burning and the prototype of the translator had been dismantled again completely; it lay in heaps of scrap over the table/desk they’d been allotted. 

Amanda allowed herself to stare for the entirety of five seconds. 

“What,” she yelled, “Is going on here!?”

Everyone paused and turned to her. There was silence, blessed silence, for all of point seven seconds. Then they all began talking at once.

Lamar: “Lee fucking lost the-“

Simone: “Couldn’t find it and-“

Lee: “It wasn’t me, it was-“

Lamar: “-everywhere for it and if some jackass-“

Simone: “-n the translator when we left for lunch-“

Lee: “-all day, okay? Just because I was the last-“

Amanda blinked, rapidly. The three continued to yell over each other. Amanda put their dialog together in her head, slowly, as they came to the end of their respective rants. 

Lamar: “Lee fucking lost the master key! We’ve looked everywhere for it and if some jackass gets ahold of that we’re screwed! They have all of our research! We can kiss our jobs goodbye! And more than that, we can kiss our future jobs goodbye! I’m going to go back to fucking mechanics and grow old and die!”

Simone: “We looked everywhere and couldn’t find it and I know it was in the translator when we left for lunch. Maybe we have housekeeping or something and they accidentally swept it up and if so we’ve got a backup but we still have no way to do the presentation tomorrow so we’re screwed.”

Lee: “I know it wasn’t me, it was never in my hands. I haven’t seen the key all day, okay? Just because I was the last person to have the translator means nothing- when I came and got it earlier, the key was already missing; I didn’t make a big deal out of it because I thought that Lamar had it!”

It took her a second to catch up. When she did, they’d all fallen silent, waiting for her verdict of the situation. 

She palmed her head and rubbed the bridge of her nose. “The master-key is missing?” 

Census says, “YES!” 

She sighed. “Okay. When was the last time any of us saw it?”

“Lee saw it last,” Lamar snapped. 

“Uh, yeah, this morning, when _you_ had it-“

“Shh.” Amanda cut them both off. “No fighting. We’re sleuthing. So it was here this morning and now it’s gone?”

Simone stepped up to bat. “Correct.”

“Lee. Call the front desk and see if Simone is right about us having house keeping. Find out if there’s anyway anyone could have been in our rooms. Lamar, go down to look in lost and found, just in case. Simone, let’s get this mess cleaned up. I bet you anything it’s somewhere here on the ground and no one can find it because this room is a complete disaster.”

They all nodded, groaning and griping their respective ways, before hurrying to do their tasks. Lee was done first, with no luck, and then she was added to the cleaning task force. Lamar came back as they were finishing up, similarly displeased. 

They cleaned the room completely. But the master key was still gone. 

“Damn.” Amanda sat on the re-made bed, as they’d shook all the sheets out earlier. “This is bad.”

“It’s not so bad,” Simone said. “We backed up the info.”

“Someone could still steal our research,” Amanda admitted. 

“What are we going to do?” Lee asked. 

Amanda looked at the clock. They were nearing three in the morning. 

“Lamar, Simone. Can you whip up a temp-key for the presentation tomorrow?”

They both made various sounds of unease.

Amanda held up a hand to stop them. “Can you, or can’t you?”

They both sighed. “I guess so,” Lamar said. “If we have to,” Simone added. 

“Good. Get on that. Lee?”

She whipped her head back around, guilty, from where she’d been fiddling with a wine bottle at the mini bar. “Ci?” 

“Wine is for celebration, not despair. Put it back.” Amanda said. “You can I are going to go comb the presentation room.”

“What?” Lee wined. 

“Come on.” Amanda groaned as she stood. She’d changed into her pajamas half-way through cleaning, for comfort, as had Lee. They were unlikely to run into anyone, though, so Amanda wasn’t too concerned with changing back. 

“I’m exhausted,” Lee wined.

“We all are,” Amanda sadly admitted. “Come on. If we’re lucky, it will be in the conference room.”

But it wasn’t. 

It was not in the conference room. It wasn’t in the hall leading to the conference room. It wasn’t in the lift, or the hall leading to their room. Simone and Lamar were still working on a new key, and so it was up to Amanda and Lee to scour any possible location.

They tried all the conference rooms each member of the team had been in, during the day. Slowly, but surely. Outside the windows of conference room 32A, the sun was beginning to rise. 

“Fuck,” Lee muttered. 

“Come on,” Amanda said. She had dark circles under her eyes. “Let’s try the mess hall.” 

They did. As they reached the back of the room, the early risers began to pour in. Amanda couldn’t be bothered by them, even in her sleepwear. There weren’t many people looking to eat breakfast before six, anyway- mostly aliens, still on another internal clock.

And Vulcans, apparently. 

“Dr. Grayson.”

Amanda sighed and straightened. After all the talking they’d done, she’d recognize that voice anywhere. “Ambassador Sarek.” She turned around and mustered up a half-assed smile. “A pleasure to see you, as always.”

He swept his eyes down her form and back up again once, quickly. “Your attire is…”

“Inappropriate,” she agreed. “I’m still in my sleep-wear, actually.”

“I do not understand.”

“Yeah, funny, I’m there with you.” She ran a hand through her hair. “We’ve been up all night looking for our stupid master key. It’s missing.”

“You think you have misplaced it in the dining area?”

She shrugged. “It’s the last place on our list. I don’t know where else to look; we've looked everywhere.”

“You have looked everywhere?”

“Yes, that's what I just said.”

“That is impossible.”

She raised a brow. She thought about being clever, but then realized: “Ambassador, I’m too tired for this. Say what you mean, please, expediently.”

“Unless they key no longer exists, then it is impossible to have looked everywhere for it, or you would have found it.”

She sighed.

“Where is the last place you saw it?”

“We saw it this morning, or, rather, yesterday morning--in the hotel room, before Lee took it and the translator out for a presentation.”

“Where?”

“Conference room seven-C.”

“Who was it you presented for?”

“Commander Holiday and his engineering cadets.”

“Have you contacted Admiral Holiday?”

“Wh… no. We haven’t. Why would we?”

“It is possible one of his cadets might have taken it.”

Amanda gaped at Sarek.

Sarek stared straight back at her, unflinchingly. 

“I… I hadn’t thought about that,” she whispered. “You’re right.”

“That is yet to be seen.” He gestured, loosely, to the comm badge she’d clipped to her pajama top.

She had Holiday’s info stored in her unit. She rang him, once, and then twice- damn his sleep. 

“ _What?_ ” His voice snapped through the line. 

“Commander Holiday, this is Amanda Grayson,” she said. “I-“

“ _Yeah, I’ve got your key. One of my idiots swiped it to see how it worked. I was going to wait until morning to actually call you about it, but if you need it now you can come down to the room. Forty-four on floor seven.”_

The transmission ended. 

She stared at her comm unit in shock. 

“Perhaps you should inform your colleague of your success,” Sarek said. 

Amanda whipped her head around, finding Lee crawling underneath a table on all fours. “Lee!” She shouted. She gave Sarek an apologetic look when the man’s shoulders jumped in a simile of a wince. 

Lee banged her head on the bottom of the table and screamed. 

Amanda sighed. 

Lee scrambled to her feet, rubbing at her head, and then trotted over to them. “Ambassador,” she said, tiredly. “Any luck, Manda?”

“We found it,” she said, point-blank.

“What?”

“We found it. One of Holiday’s cadets swiped it.”

Lee stared at her. 

Amanda comm’ed Lamar and Simone. “Found it,” she said, simply. "Room forty-four on floor seven. Go fetch.” 

A brief scream of rage was her only reply. It was good enough.

“Well.” Amanda turned back to the Ambassador and gave him a tired smile. “Thank you, Ambassador, you’ve been very helpful.”

He inclined his head. “Doctor.”

“If you’ll excuse us, I believe my associate and I will be leaving now.”

He made no move to stop them.

They stomped past early risers and back to the hotel room, where Lamar and Simone had recovered the master key and were sobbing, quite openly, over it. 

“I’m canceling all our appointments for the day,” Amanda declared. “We do the one presentation at… o-nine-hundred and then we come crash back here. Bottle of wine, finger food, and a sappy foreign film. So it is written, so it shall be.”

“Amanda,” Lamar sighed, happily. “I could kiss you.”

“I’d rather you just get ready,” she said, but her smile was genuine, nonetheless. 

 

* * *

 

That night she went to Sarek’s again. After a long nap and a couple of cups of highly caffeinated tea, she felt more like a human being and less like a living sponge. She went to her last few meetings for the day despite having told the team to nix them, and then found her way to Sarek’s hotel room. The team had forced her to bring a bottle of wine as a thank-you, though she’d told them already it was very doubtful he would drink any. 

She pressed the chime on the door. Only a second passed before the doors slid open, allowing her entry. She stepped inside, looking around for Sarek. Like with lunch the day before, he seemed to be amiss—most likely concealed within his bedroom. 

Amanda walked over to the table and set down her bottle of wine. She was wearing a smart suite and scarf, but once again the temperature of the room was getting to her. She took her jacket off, and then her button-up, so that she was left in her white undershirt. She also took her shoes off, never one to track dirt around someone’s living space. 

She hadn’t really stopped to think about dinner. She wasn’t hungry just then, but it wouldn’t be too long until she was ready to eat. Maybe she would cut her meeting with Sarek short. 

The door to the bedroom opened, and Sarek strode out in the same gray and green robes he’d been wearing that morning, when he’d helped to find the master key. She hadn’t had the time or mind to admire the clothing that morning, so she took a minute as he appeared before her. He looked sharp. 

She grinned at him. “Ambassador.”

“Doctor.” He stood before her, hands neatly clasped before his body. 

“Shall we small-talk?”

He gestured towards the table. “Sit.”

She did. “I brought us a bottle of wine, from the team. It’s a thank you, of sorts. I told them you probably wouldn’t want it, but it’s the thought that counts.”

He raised a brow. “I see no problem with indulging.” 

“Good.” She smiled. 

Wordlessly, he walked to the kitchenette and produced two glasses and a bottle opener, bringing both out to the table. He opened the bottle of wine and then poured them both a glass, sliding Amanda’s over to her while he took his and walked back into the kitchen.

“What are you doing?” She asked. 

“I will prepare us dinner.”

She blinked in surprise. “You don’t have to do that.”

“You prepared lunch for the both of us. It is only… fair, as you humans would say.”

She snorted out a laugh. “What? Vulcans don’t believe in fair?”

“We do not,” Sarek said. “The concept of fairness is illogical. There is no such thing as equivalent exchange, as no one thing can exactly equal another. Fair is a human concept.” 

“Well. I believe in it, and I believe you’re acting on it as logically as is possible.”

He didn’t reply. He was rooting about in the kitchen, as orderly as possible. 

“And what is it that we’ll be having, Ambassador?”

“Plomeek soup.” Sarek said. 

“Is it a taste as difficult to acclimate to as your Vulcan tea?”

“It is supposed to be considerably more palatable to humans.” 

She smiled. “Is that why you’ve chosen it, then?”

He was silent. 

She wasn’t offended. His silence meant only that he didn’t have an answer for her. Vulcans didn’t shrug or say ‘I don’t know,’ so silence filled the gaps. It wasn’t rude, though it may have come off as so. She said as much. 

“You know, your silence might be considered rude by humans.”

“I do not understand how a lack of words could be considered rude.”

“It’s like you’re ignoring them.”

“I am not ignoring you.”

“I know that. You know that. But humans… we need every conversation to be formally closed.” She shrugged. “It’s a delicate balance. You’ll get it, watching humans talk to each other.” 

“I do not have the luxury of such things.”

“Come to lunch with me and Lee tomorrow,” she said on a whim. “You can watch us talk.”

“Would that not be intruding?” 

“Not at all. I’ve invited you, after all.”

He nodded, once. 

“There,” she said. “That’s a good end. Just a signal, to show you’ve heard me.”

“I see,” he said, though she suspected he didn’t--not yet, not entirely. 

It was quiet, for a time, outside the sounds of Sarek’s cooking. Amanda sipped at her wine and watched the city outside. Sarek didn’t even listen to music as he worked. Amanda wasn’t surprised. 

“How long have you studied Vulcan?” Sarek suddenly asked. 

“Hm?” Amanda looked back over to him. He was bent over the stove. “Vulcan? Do you mean the language?”

“No. The planet.” 

“Oh. I haven’t.” She looked back out at the city. There was a traffic jam down the way, and watching the lights bob about was interesting her. 

Sarek was looking at her. She could feel it. 

“What?” Amanda turned back to him, laughing. “Is there something I’m missing?”

“You claim not to have studied the planet, or our culture-“

“Well I’ve studied the pieces of culture linked to the language.” 

“I know that. And yet, you seem to understand more about Vulcan than any other human I have encountered. I do not understand how this can be if you have not gone looking for the information.”

“What do I know that anyone else does not?”

“You.” He paused. It was the first time, she realized, that he did not have a reply read for her. “You understand me,” he said, eventually. 

She raised her brows. “High praise,” she said, carefully. “From anyone. But especially from you.” She went on after a beat, saying, “Just because I know you, doesn’t mean I know every Vulcan, Ambassador.” 

“I do not understand.”

“I’ve talked to you. I know some of your family history. I’ve been around you enough that I can read your body language. That’s because we… we know each other. Not because I’ve studied the ways that Vulcans behave as a whole.” 

He looked away from her. 

“Is that so hard to believe?” She mused. “That I know you _personally_ , and not as a Vulcan?”

He didn’t answer. 

“I’m a linguist. Not a culture expert.”

“And yet,” he said, “You observe our customs.”

“How so?”

“You cooked for me, the second time you entered my rooms. You address my by my title. You have no complained of the heat, or my lack of emotion. It is not what other humans would have done.”

“I like to think I’m a little bit considerate,” she murmured. She stood and took her wine glass into the kitchen, along with the bottle. She noticed Sarek’s glass was empty, so she refilled it. 

Amanda leaned against the counter to watch Sarek cook. He was chopping some sort of onion-like vegetable. He did not look at her, and so she looked at him. 

She realized that her team was right. He was rather attractive. 

“And what about you?” She asked. “You must have studied human culture.”

“It is part of my job,” he said. 

“So what do you think of it?” At his look, she clarified. “Of human culture, I mean.”

“It is illogical,” he said, easily.

She smiled, softly. “That doesn’t mean it’s not fascinating, from a researcher’s point of view. I know you’d never admit to having any sort of fun, but curiosity… that’s something else entirely.”

“Say what you mean,” Sarek said. 

“Well, aren’t you curious?”

He looked up at her, finally. “Curious?”

“About us,” she said. “About humans. About our illogical, wonderful culture. Why we do what we do. Why we say what we say. You can’t tell me that it’s boring.”

“I do not experience boredom.” 

“Well, you have that part of human culture down. You’re excellent at side-stepping.”

Almost as if it pained him, he said, “It is… curious.” 

“It, being?”

“Your culture.” He didn’t make a face, but his brow twitched. His shoulders stiffened. “Is that what you wanted to hear? That your culture interests me?”

“I wasn’t fishing, Ambassador.”

“Doctor, please.”

“Amanda,” she said. 

He turned towards her, raising a brow. 

“Amanda,” she repeated. “That’s my name. We’re having dinner and wine together- you may as well call me by my first name.”  


“Amanda,” he said, testing it out. 

She smiled. “That’s right.”

“Then you should call me by my name as well.”

“Are you sure? I don’t mind.”

“I would not say it if I did not mean it.” He brushed past her and towards the refrigeration unit. 

“Sarek, then.” She took a sip from her glass. “What parts of human culture do you find the most curious?”

“Your relationships,” he said, easily.

“Relationships? What kind?”

“All of them.” He poured something into the pot on the stove. “There is very little one must do to be considered a friend. It does not make sense. You have no need of these bonds, and yet you make so many of them, so freely. The levels of your… your bonds. Co-workers, colleagues, friends, best friends, acquaintances. Even your familial relations and romantics.”

“Romantics? What’s so strange about that?”

“On Vulcan, we are bonded as children. When we reach the proper time, the bond is completed- it is what you would call marriage. Those are the two stages of our relationships.”

“So you have no, what? Crushes? Boyfriends, girlfriends? No finances or friends with benefits?”

“No. We do not.” 

“Well that’s too bad. How do you know if you’re going to like spending the rest of your life with the child you’re bonded to? How do you even meet them?”

“It is arranged by one’s parents.”

“See, I don’t know if I could do that. You’re a brave bunch. Or, I suppose, a logical bunch. I guess it does make sense to simply say that you will marry someone who you’ve been selected for, to get rid of all the complications of romance. You do it- for what? Reproduction? Surely not for the company.”

“Hm.” 

She shook her head. “I mean, what happens if you have no chemistry?”

“Chemistry?” 

“Chemistry. I can’t fathom having a child with someone you don’t even have some sort of compatibility with.”

“Bondmates are selected based on status and mental compatibility.”

She hadn’t been thinking of that sort of chemistry, but it seemed best to let it slide. “Well, that’s something, at the very least. And what about your bondmate? What are they like?”

He stiffened. She knew right away she’d hit a sore spot. 

“You don’t have to talk about it, if you don’t want to,” she rushed, “I was just-

“Her name is T’Rea.” He said, flatly. “She is no longer my bondmate.”

Amanda furrowed her brows. “I don’t understand.”

“She left me for the noble pursuit of kolinahr. The total removal of all emotions.” 

Amanda looked at the floor. “Oh,” she said. “What… what are you going to do? Just… be alone forever?”

“I cannot be,” he said. “It is not the Vulcan way. I will find another mate when the time comes.” 

“I see,” she said. She fiddled with the stem of her wine glass. “I’m sorry.”

He looked at her. “Why are you sorry?”

“I’m sorry that she left you.”

He was confused. “It was not your fault,” he said. 

“I know. But… well, it’s hard to explain ‘I’m sorry.’ It means that I empathize with you, and that I wish such a thing did not have to happen. I’m not sure how I would translate it-“

“S’ti th’laktra.” He said. 

She blinked. “I grieve with thee?” 

“That is the closest you would find, in our language.” He said. “However, your empathy is not needed. There was no love between T’Rea and I. Our match was a logical one, as was our parting.”

“Oh… well, I’m glad.”

“The soup is ready. Be seated and I will serve you.”

Amanda did as he asked. 

Sarek placed a steaming bowl in front of her, at the table. The soup was a yellow-orange color, like squash. He had added a small green garnish of some sort of leaf in the middle. She looked up towards Sarek, waiting for any sort of cue as to how she was expected to proceed. 

He didn’t so much as glance at her as he lifted a spoonful of the soup to his lips.

Amanda did the same, blowing over it before swallowing a mouth-full. It was good- a little bit like tomato, but with less of the nearly-sweet flavor that tomatoes came with. She couldn’t decide what it was more like, after a second bite—tomato or butternut squash. Maybe a combination? She couldn’t place the spices, either; nothing other than the salt, which there was precious little of. It was unexpectedly bland. 

“I was led to believe Vulcans preferred spicy food.” 

“Do humans enjoy one set of food exclusively?”

She gave him a look. 

He simply stared back. 

“Alright, I’ve learned my lesson,” she said. “Here’s another idiom for you; you know what they say about assumptions.”

“I do not know what they say about assumptions.” 

“Something about it making an ass out of you. I can’t remember the whole saying, but I doubt anyone will ever say anything amongst those lines to you.” She laughed a little as he lifted his brows. “Then again, you never know.” 

“Indeed,” he said. “It would be polite for me to ask if you are enjoying your food at this juncture.”

“It’s bland,” she said, honestly. “But it’s growing on me.”

“It is not growing on you.”

“I am beginning to enjoy it,” she corrected herself. “Another figure of speech.” 

“I see.”

“Do you like it?” She asked, on a whim. 

“It meets my body’s needs,” he said, simply.

She leaned her head onto her palm. “Yes, well, I suppose enjoyment is an emotion.”

“It is.”

“It’s too bad. I’d almost say I was enjoying dinner with you.” 

He raised a brow. 

She grinned. “But that would be my human tendency to apply emotion to situation where there is none, am I correct?” She finished off what was left of the wine in her glass. 

“That would be correct,” he said. He’d finished his wine as well.

“Did you like the wine? Or, rather, was it to your tastes?”

“It was agreeable,” he said. 

“I would have thought Vulcans wouldn’t drink. Something about that need for control.”

“Vulcans do not become intoxicated.” 

She resisted the urge to roll her eyes. “Of course they don’t.”

“You misunderstand. I meant to say that alcohol does not have an effect on Vulcan biology.”

“Oh.” She laughed. “Well, that must be convenient. I know I certainly would have less regret if the same could be said of my body. Not to say I drink much, really, or get drunk often, but… well, I’d say you know how college is, but I’m sure there are very few shenanigans to be had in Vulcan schools of higher learning.”

“You would be correct in that assumption.” He said. 

She laughed. “What did you go to school for? Diplomatic relations?”

“That is correct.”

“Did you always think you would be the ambassador to Earth?”

He looked at her. “No,” he said. 

“Why not? Did you want to be the ambassador to another planet? Another race?”

“I held no preconceived expectations as to where my services would be required.” He paused. “I was surprised to find that the council believed I was the best match for Earth, and by that extent, humans.”

“Well with your excellent sense of humor…” She trailed off, grinning. 

“A joke,” he recognized. “You are teasing me.” 

“Why Ambassador, I would never.”

“Sarek,” he said. 

“Hm?”

“Sarek. You agreed to call me by my name, Amanda.”

She felt her grin falter. There was… something there. Something she couldn’t read, in his eyes, in the set of his hands. “Of course,” she said, “Sarek.” 

It was quiet. It didn’t feel like their previous silences. Something was living in this one- thriving off the quiet. She wasn’t sure if it was a good thing or a bad thing. 

“Tell me about your relationship with the woman you call Lee.” Sarek said, suddenly.

Amanda looked back up from her soup. “Lee? What about her?”

“She is your partner,” Sarek lead.

“She is.” When it became apparent that Sarek expected her to go on without prompt, Amanda put her spoon down to think. “Lee is… something else. She’s brilliant, and very quick. She connects things you would never think of. Just- very, very bright. I’m not sure where the translator would be without her. Where _I_ would be without her. She is a very close friend.”

“I do not understand.”

“What don’t you understand?” 

“I am again unable to understand human relationships. She is more than one thing to you. She is your co-worker. She is your friend. And she is your partner.”

“Well, yes.” Amanda blinked. There was emphasis in the way he said partner. “She was the first person to say my idea was more than science fiction. She might just be my best friend.”

“Then you will marry her,” he said. 

“What?!” Amanda blurted. She began to laugh. “Wh-what?”

He stared at her, impassive. 

“Marry her? Oh, no. No, no, no. Lee and I- we. We could never. I love her to death, I really do, but she’s… she leaves her clothes on the floor. And she makes a mess of the toothpaste, and she hates keeping the windows open. We’re not… Oh, Sarek.” She laughed again. “We’re not romantically involved. I mean partner in the most literal sense of the word.”

“Then you are un-bonded.”

“We call it single, on Earth.” She mused. “But yes, I am.”

He nodded. Like he had something to do with that information.

“That’s not to say I’ve never been, er, bonded. I’ve not been married, of course, but I’ve had plenty of boyfriends and girlfriends over the years. Just… no one that really stuck. Lee says I’m waiting for the right computer to come along.”

“Computer?”

She shrugged. “Just, someone that could understand the way I think. Sometimes I think they’re right, and that only a machine could do such a thing. It’s not lonely, but I do wonder…” 

“You wonder what?”

“Well, you know.” She looked up at him, shrugging. “Like you, with T’Rea. You must wonder, sometimes, what would have happened if she hadn’t left. Even if you know, logically, that it couldn’t have worked out, or that it wouldn’t have. Even if there’s no real point to day dreaming. It’s something to think about. Something to wonder. Will it always be this way? Or will I wake up someday, married, and think back to these conversations I used to have, about the future, about being single, about relationships.”

He stared at her. 

“Do you know what I mean?”

“Yes,” he said. “I understand very well. To contemplate the future, and the various paths one might have taken to arrive at such a destination, is not a thing of illogic.” 

“Well, I’m glad one of us thinks it’s not so silly.” She dipped her head back down to finish off her soup. 

“Amanda,” Sarek said. 

She looked back up at him, swallowing. “Hm?”

“Marry me.” 

She stared at him. “Wh… what?”

“Marry me,” he repeated, earnestly. 

She blinked. “You… you’re joking.”

“Vulcans do not joke,” he said. 

“Then I’ve misunderstood you somehow.”

“Amanda,” he said, seriously. “I assure you that I mean precisely as I say. I realize that this is not what you are accustomed to, but for me, it is only logical.”

“Say it… say it one more time. So that I’m sure I’m not hallucinating.”

He nodded. “Amanda,” he said. “I am asking you to marry me.”

She stared at him. 

Seconds ticked by. One Mississippi, two Mississippi, three Mississippi, four Mississippi, five…

“I. I must be getting back to my room, now. I. I will… I will see you tomorrow, at lunch.”

“I will escort you to the door.”

“S-sure, if you’d. If you’d like.” She scrambled to pull her button-up and jacket back on, and then hurriedly pressed her feet into her shoes. Her heart was pounding, so loud that she was certain he must have been able to hear it. She walked robotically to the door, stopping as she stepped out into the hall. 

She turned around.

Sarek looked at her. “Goodnight, Amanda,” he said. 

“Goodnight… Sarek.”

The doors closed between them. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you like my work, consider checking out my original content [here](https://books2read.com/u/3R1aRn)!


	2. Chapter 2

 

“This isn’t real.” Amanda fumbled for her toothbrush at the sink. _This cannot be happening_. She scrubbed furiously at her teeth and mouth, until all traces of Plomeek and red wine had been eradicated and carefully replaced by spearmint. She spat. “This is. This isn’t really happening.”

“Amanda!” Lee banged on the door. “Hurry up, I’ve got to pee!” 

Amanda was busy having a crisis in the mirror, thank you very much. “One moment.”

“Hurry!” Lee urged her.

Amanda washed her face and then woodenly turned around, evacuating the bathroom. Lee went rushing past her, slamming the door closed behind her. 

Amanda ghosted over to their bed, laying carefully back on the covers. She picked at the material of her pajamas. 

Lamar and Simone were already in their bed, flipping through the holo projector for a movie. They were arguing quietly, but that was practically breathing to them. 

_Marry me_.

She closed her eyes and let out a long breath. Was she blushing? Oh, hell, she was, wasn’t she? Completely unprofessional. 

What was he thinking? He had to be looking for a way to get in better with Earth in general. What better way than to marry a human? Then he’d always have his human communications teacher with him. Right?

What was _wrong_ with him? How could- how could Sarek have misread the situation so severely as to have proposed? It didn’t matter that he’d said it three times, more or less- there had to be some misunderstanding on her part, or his. There was just no way. No way!

_ “Rumor has it that the Vulcan Ambassador to Earth is a babe.” _

Like it mattered. He had to be crazy. No one went about proposing after three dates. Their meetings weren’t even really dates! She’d thought he’d been interested in her purely for her brain. 

Oh, god, what if he was? What if he did want to marry her, and for no reason other than her mind? 

But then, hadn’t she always sort of wanted that? 

Not after three dates! Even if they did get along swimmingly. 

More than swimmingly. Amanda hadn’t even liked Lee as much as she liked Sarek until they’d known each other for months. Months! And now, after three nights- 

“What’s wrong with you?”

Amanda opened her eyes. 

Her team had gathered around her, and were all staring down at her in concern. 

“Did he like the wine?” Lamar asked. 

Amanda felt herself go red. She rolled over onto her front, slammed her face into the mattress, and groaned. She had earned the right to be dramatic for once, and so, she was going to be. It felt good, in a way. 

“Oh.” Lee said. “That bad, huh?”

“It’s not what you think,” Amanda muttered. 

“Well I mean, if he rejected the wine, that’s one thing. If he tried it and hated it-“

She sat up. “He asked me to marry him!” 

Silence. 

“What?” Lee said. 

The three of them burst into laughter. 

“Oh--oh my God, Amanda!” Lamar howled. 

“And they say you have no sense of humor,” Simone cackled. 

“You really had me going for a moment there, oh lordy!” Lee fell onto the mattress, holding her stomach as she laughed. “Manda, your poker face is something!” 

“I’m serious!” She insisted. She scowled at them, and sat up a little taller. “Stop laughing. I am _not_ joking, and you are making the situation infinitely worse.” 

“Oh, come on, Amanda-“

“Yeah, there’s no way-“

“You’ve only known each other a couple of days-“

She set her jaw, fixing her team with a stern eye. “If I was going to make a joke about anything to do with Sarek, don’t you think I’d pick something a little less severe?” She fell back into bed, covering her face. “What am I going to do?” She groaned. 

It was quiet. 

“Oh Bisquick. You’re really serious,” Lee breathed. 

She nodded behind her hands. 

“Holy shit.” Lamar said. “He asked you to _marry_ him?”

“Told me, more like. Three times.”

“He _what_!?” Lee shrieked. 

“No! No, not like that.” She sighed. “It was just, out of the blue. ‘Marry me,’ like there was nothing to it. And I said, ‘what?’ and he said, ‘marry me,’ and I said, ‘come again,’ and he said, ‘I’m asking you to marry me.’ Just like that, no build up, nothing.” 

“Holy shit,” Lamar breathed again. “Holy shit!” 

“What did you say?” Simone demanded. 

“What could I say? I told him I would see him at lunch tomorrow.”

“What could you say?” Simone scoffed. “You could have said no!” 

Amanda rolled over again, placing her face into her pillow. It smelled like her conditioner. 

“Why _didn’t_ you say no?” Simone asked.

"..."

“Amanda?” Lamar helped. 

“It's just that... Well.” She groaned. “I... I don’t know why.” 

Simone said, “You’re not seriously considering his proposal, are you?” 

“He was serious. I should extend the same courtesy-“

“Amanda!” Simone fake-gasped. 

Lee spoke up, then. “Why wouldn’t she consider it?”

“She just met him!” 

“So?”

Amanda sat back up, looking over at Lee. “You don’t think I should really give this any thought, do you?”

“Amanda, he’s a Vulcan. For him to ask you, like that, point-blank… he’s certainly thought about it.” Lee frowned. “Probably more than any of us would realize. I mean, aren't they like penguins-“

“Penguins!?” Simone spluttered. 

Lee shrugged. “You know. Isn't it… isn't it like soul mate stuff? Like, for life? I mean, don't you get like... Like, hooked up to their telepathy or whatever?”

Amanda had completely, totally forgotten about the rumor of Vulcan touch-telepathy. She flushed. How often had she touched him? Did he know more of her than she thought? Was that why he wanted her? And if so, how could she possibly turn him down _without_ further thought? If he truly wanted her for who she was, deep inside… 

“Amanda, you can’t be serious about this.” Simone said. “If it’s for life, and he turns out to be the worst-“

“I never said I was going to say yes,” Amanda said. “Just… I don’t know if I want to say no.”

“Well if you don’t say no, then you’ll say yes,” Lamar said. 

“Not necessarily,” Lee said, quickly. 

Amanda nodded, to herself. “There’s always the ‘I’ll think about it,’ in the end.” 

“You’ll think about it?” Simone scoffed. “For a couple of years, maybe? He hasn’t even taken you out on a date!” 

“And what’s more,” Lamar said, “The conference ends in… three days, if you count tomorrow.” 

“I know,” Amanda said. “But he’s the Ambassador to Earth. It’s not like he’s going to fly back to Vulcan and then I’ll never see him again. Even if I tell him to wait, once the conference is over, there will still be plenty of time for us to get to know each other... Right?”

“Unless he’s looking to get hitched fast,” Simone said. “You said it yourself- he’s the Ambassador to Earth. What would look better than him marrying a local?” 

She frowned. “I… the thought had crossed my mind.” 

“Do you really think even a Vulcan would do that?” Lee asked. “I don’t.”

Amanda turned to her. “Are you… encouraging me to go after this?”

Lee shrugged. “I’ve never been one to let a good thing go.”

“Lee!” Simone wined. 

Lamar said, “Actually… she might be right.”

“You two are insane!” Simone declared. 

“Only one way to know,” Amanda sighed. “I will give him my answer tomorrow. At lunch. And… we’ll go from there.”

 

* * *

 

Amanda sat down at the same table she and Lee had been commandeering for lunch that past few days. She’d grabbed a burger without realizing it was slathered in mayo, which she hated intensely, and he salad was actually Beltine, so each leaf tasted very strongly and similar to kale. Still, she’d never been one to back down from a challenge, so she forced herself to begin eating with as much dignity as possible. At the very least, she had her tea. 

Sarek dropped gracefully into the chair next to her. 

“Ambassador,” she said. 

“Doctor Grayson.”

She remembered that she’d said she would call him Sarek if he called her Amanda. It looked like he’d remembered the same. Well played. “How has your day been?”

“Satisfactory. We arranged for me to observe your conversation with another human, however; not a practice in small-talk.”

Amanda looked across the table to Lee, who looked very much like she had been hoping to be a casual observer, rather than an active participant. Every possible subject of conversation seemed to dissolve into nothing within Amanda’s mind. All she wanted to talk about was what the hell the Ambassador thought he was doing, but she had told him that she would supply a chance to observe human interaction. 

“Lee,” Amanda said. “How was your conference this morning?”

The conversation was stinted and awkward. Amanda had never felt awkward, talking to Lee before, but they were both very aware of Sarek, who sat watching them with the rapt attention of a hawk. He ate, robotically, completely silent as he observed them. 

Finally, Amanda had enough. “I’m sorry.” She set down her tea and turned to Sarek. “Sarek, what the hell?”

He raised a brow. “Amanda?”

The awkwardness was gone, and in its place determination sprung to life. “I didn’t want to make a big deal out of it, but it’s a big deal. I can’t ignore you while you sit here, even in the name of research. You-" She cleared her throat and leaned in, lowering her voice."You asked me to marry you last night.”

“I did,” he said. 

Point blank, she said, “Why?”

“It is logical.” He said. He seemed almost confused by her question—as if he couldn’t imagine why on earth he _wouldn’t_ have spontaneously proposed to her. For a bing part of a race that supposedly were betrothed as children, and had the rest of their lives to plan actually getting married, he seemed awfully certain about his choice. 

“Logical?” She laughed a little. “How so?”

“You are the superior choice.”

“Choice? What other women do you have lined up to choose from?”

He tilted his head just barely to the side. “I have misspoken.”

Amanda looked over to Lee, as if to say _can you believe this_? Lee, however, looked like a damned cheshire cat- grinning like the sight before her was better than daytime holovision. She whipped her head back around to Sarek, who continued. 

He said, “You exhibit all the traits I would find desirable in a bondmate. You are exceptionally intelligent, and you are an expert in fields I find desirable not only in a professional context, but personally. You possess an understanding of Vulcan culture and, from our interactions, you seem to understand mepersonally. You are unbonded yourself, and your career in language and translations would be benefited through a union with my person. We are compatible on both a mental and personal scale. Additionally, you are human, and I am the ambassador to Earth.” 

She stared at him, stunned. 

“I realize, now, that you consider my actions thoughtless--'hasty,' as you would say. They are not. I have put considerable thought into my proposal--while it may be human custom to wait a prolonged period of time to make such advances, I am not human. Once realizing my intentions towards you, it became clear that the next logical step was to carry such intentions out at once.”

It fell silent. 

She didn’t know what to say. What _could_ she say, after something like that? 

“Damn,” Lee said. “You work fast.”

It snapped Amanda out of her trance. “But what about love?”

“Love?” He raised a brow. 

“I know Vulcan’s don’t, but Humans marry for love. For affection. Sarek…” She looked over at Lee and then back to the Vulcan, lowering her voice again. “I am very flattered, truly, I am. But do you think you could meet my emotional needs?”

“If it is sexual relations you are worried about, you should not be-“

“No,” she hurried, cutting him off. God, Lee was going to have a field day when they got back to the hotel room. “No. Not like that… I mean. Sarek. What would you do if I started crying?”

“Crying?”

“If I was sad, and started crying. What would you even do?”

He was silent. 

She frowned. “See? We-“

“I am capable of learning,” Sarek said. “You are an excellent teacher. If you can teach me the delicacies of human euphemism, you can teach me how to respond to emotion.” 

Amanda was quiet. 

“What must I do to persuade you?” Sarek asked. “I am unaccustomed to human practices, but I will do what I must.”

“Wouldn’t it be just as logical to find someone else like me?” Amanda asked. 

Sarek raised a brow. “Impossible,” he said. 

“What?”

“There is no one exactly like you. You are completely unique.” He paused. “There are, perhaps, those similar to you. But none who are as you are. It is you whom I wish to marry. Not someone who shares your characteristics.”

She blinked at him, blindsided. She was flushing again, but she couldn't bring herself to care.

“Damn,” Lee whispered. 

Amanda whipped her head over to look at Lee. “You’re still here?”

“Oh, don’t mind me.” She picked up one of her crisps and loudly crunched it between her teeth. “I’m just a casual observer.” 

Amanda whipped her head back around to Sarek. “I just... I don’t think it would work.”

Point-blank, he asked, “What are your reasons?" 

“R-reasons?” She spluttered. 

“There must surely be evidence to support your hypothesis. What have I done to convince you that I am unworthy as a bondmate?”

“I-“ She choked on her words and trailed off. “Nothing,” she said, eventually.

“Then I do not understand the problem.”

Amanda’s PADD chimed in time with Lee’s watch. She looked over at Lee, and then back over to Sarek, wincing in apology. “I’m- I’m sorry, Sarek, I have to be going or I’ll be late.” 

He dipped his head in understanding.

“I…”

“Will you have dinner with me tonight, in my rooms?” Sarek asked. 

She swallowed, biting her lip, and thought about it for a second. _Why not?_ Slowly, she nodded. “Certainly.”

“Then I will see you at nineteen hundred,” Sarek said. 

“R-right.” 

She hurried off, Lee grinning maniacally at her side, thinking, _just what have I gotten myself into_?

 

 

* * *

 

Sarek had dinner ready when she entered the room. It was some sort of vegetable pasta, and unlike the Plomeek soup, smelled like it had a bit of a kick to it. She’d always had a broad range of tastes, and anticipated that she would be able to handle it just fine. 

Sarek was wearing black robes, which had silver Vulcan scroll over the right breast- _kau_ ; wisdom. 

She felt under-dressed, suddenly. She thought about the wine-red dress hanging in the closet of the hotel room, which she had been saving for the last night’s banquet. She still looked nice, though; in royal blues, black, and hints of orange. She sat. 

“Amanda,” Sarek said. “Good evening.”

“Good evening, Sarek.” She smiled at him, just barely. She felt strung out- between his proposal, the conferences, and the lack of sleep, she wasn’t sure how much more she could take before she boarded herself up in a closet. 

There was a single, lit candle on the table. She stared at it in trepidation. Sarek had already set the food out, but he stepped up to her side with a crafted glass bottle of amber liquid. He reached for her glass, mindful of her personal space. 

“Would you care for some armagnac?” 

She blinked, but lifted her glass. “You didn’t strike me as the type.”

“It is something I was gifted from the official from the France region, two years ago when I acquired my position. It was… surprisingly palatable. I now indulge on ‘special’ occasions.” 

She laughed, a little, before what he’d said set in. “And this… is a special occasion?”

“If you are made uncomfortable by my pursuit, you need only tell me so. I will behave in a professional capacity.”

“I…” She looked down at her lap. “I don’t mind.”

“Then this is a special occasion,” he said. He poured himself a glass. “Computer, play composition one.” 

“Composition one?” She teased. What a ‘logical’ name fo a playlist. “Why-“ she paused. “Is… is this Tchaikovy?” 

He inclined his head. With that, he began to eat. 

There were a lot of things she could have said, at that point but she decided to put it all aside and just eat. As suspected, the dish was spicy- incredibly so. Her eyes began to water, but she powered through. Once she made it past the initial burning sensation, the taste almost seemed to dull. _Fascinating._

She spoke. “Odd,” she said. “That you would know what kind of music I like.”

“Your partner, Doctor Lee Zhao, was most helpful.”

It suddenly all made sense. The romantic atmosphere. The candle, the music, the nice clothes. Even the brandy. Lee had given him a crash-course in dating, and damn, he’d applied himself. 

“I appreciate the effort,” she started. She wasn’t sure what else she meant to say, but nothing came. She bent her head back to her meal. It really was delicious--if not odd. Sarek was an excellent cook. 

“Would you care to converse in Vulcan?” He asked. 

She blinked. “Well… yes. Yes, that would be lovely.”

He began to speak. Without hitch, voice a deep, smooth rumble, like thunder in the distance. He started, without prompt, to discuss pre-reform Vulcan culture. He began with description of the dress, and hair, as well as bodily modification customs. From there he went into mythology and religion, as well as the ceremonies that had lasted through the reform. Some of those included warrior’s ceremonies, so he back-tracked to Vulcan warrior traditions. She only spoke occasionally, interjecting to ask him to clarify something or explain a certain word, or sometimes to ask questions. For the most part, he spoke, and she listened. 

When they finished eating dinner her stoped abruptly. He took his empty plate, along with Amanda’s. 

“I have also prepared dessert, if you amenable.” 

“Oh, certainly.” She smiled. “You really didn’t have to go through all this trouble.”

“It is no trouble.” He said. He brought back two plates. “Prusah kisan,” he said- the name of the dessert he was serving. 

She observed it as he set it down. It was very much like a custard pie, with fruit in it. She brought it to her lips- it was warm- and took a bite. It wasn’t very sweet; she would bet that he’d added no sugar or sweetener beyond the fruit, and even the fruit wasn’t as sweet as what she would have expected. Still, it was unexpectedly good, despite not being what she’d expected. It had a vaguely cherry aftertaste, but the rest was wonderfully alien. 

“Tell me of your family,” Sarek said. 

She blinked up at him. “My family?”  
He nodded. “Your family is important to you.”

“Lee said that?” She laughed at his nod. “Well… we’re close, and far apart at the same time. I haven’t actually seen my parents in two years, believe it or not. We send each other communications and such regularly, I’d say weekly, but it’s very rare that the Grayson clan gets together. We like… we like that sense of independence, I guess. I’m the first one to leave Canada, of course, but Starfleet was based here, so…” 

He said, “You are a clan?”

“What? Oh, no, no. Uh, it’s just a way of saying family, sometimes. I just mean our extended family, not just my immediate family. My mother, father, and two sisters.”

“What are their names?”

“My mother’s name is Felicia, and my father’s name is Caden. My oldest sister is Doris and my younger sister is named Sable. Doris is an artist, like my mom, and Sable is in school; she’s hoping to become an architect. Uh, my dad restores old furniture.”

“Those are all vastly different professions from you own.”

She smiled. “I know- somehow I didn’t get the artist gene. Though, I don’t know. I suppose there’s a sort of art to language. But no, I’ve always been a little more scientific. I considered becoming a xenobiologist for a while, but there’s something about language and culture that fascinates me beyond anything else. It’s- a science, a mathematical formula… a sort of, I don’t know, puzzle for me to solve. If you can just figure out how it works, the rest is all math- figuring out what goes where, which translations require more input, which are literal. And with the translator itself you have- you have this… equation, you know, that sort of undoes the math of language and then rebuilds it into a set formula of conversion. It’s a little difficult to explain, though I’m sure you’d understand it all rather easily. I’m getting ahead of myself, anyway. To answer your question- yes. I suppose I’m a bit of an odd duck, to the family.”

“Odd duck?”

“An expression. Not like the others.” She smiled. “Like you. You’re an odd duck.”

He raised a brow. 

“No, no, it’s a good thing,” she laughed. “You… you know. Like in the lift, the other day. Your, your colleagues. They were so quick to judge me because I’m human, you know, they thought I was stupid. But you…” she tilted her head to regard him. “You didn’t.”

“It is illogical to make assumptions.” 

“You’d think with the Vulcan dedication to logic, others would feel the same way.” 

“Prejudice is a quality which is unfortunately common in the Vulcan race,” he said. “It is a cultural aspect that must change in the future if we are to continue to evolve.”

“Don’t beat yourself up about it,” she said. “Humans are the same way. We’re just better at hiding it. But we have a deep history of racism and prejudice, which, unfortunately, hasn’t been completely dissolved. It’s actually part of why I’m so hopeful for the translator. The first step to dismantling those false beliefs is to understand one another.”

“I would agree,” he said. 

Amanda had neglected dessert completely. She turned back towards it, scooping some into her mouth. It had cooled, which made it admittedly less palatable, but it was still good. She swallowed. “Thank you, by the way.”

“What for?”

“This.” She gestured around the room. “It was very thoughtful.”

“It was only logical,” he said. 

She didn’t ask about the logic in it, just for once. “Well, still. Thank you.” 

He nodded. 

Amanda finished her dessert and pushed her plate away from her. She felt slightly buzzed from the brandy, and the low lights of the room and the classical music playin in the background made her feel pleasantly warm. She regarded Sarek, as he sat across from her, doing the same. 

He really was handsome, she decided. The sharp plains of his face were alien and familiar to her both at once. His dark eyes held intelligence, his strong jaw hinted at his Vulcan strength. The slant of his eyebrows made him look severe, but the fullness of his lips stopped him from being completely icy.

“You did a good job,” she said.

“May I inquire as to what it is I did a good job on?”

“This is a date, isn’t it?” It wasn’t hard to figure out. His nod confirmed what she already knew. “It’s a beautiful first date, Sarek. Really.”

“I am capable of conforming to human custom,” he said. “If that is what you require.”

“Require,” she mused. “No. I’m not sure I require anything.” She leaned back in her chair, eyes sliding over to the window. It had been sprinkling most of the day, and under the cover of night the rain on the window made the lights on the street below stretch and shine like halos. “What would make me happy, however… that’s a different story.”

“You require happiness,” he said. “It is the same thing.”

“I don’t really think it is,” she said. She looked over at him. “Agree to disagree with me, Sarek. This time.”

He nodded. 

“What a day.” She looked back outside. “It all seems a million miles away, up here.”

“The distance between this floor and the ground is-“

She laughed. “No, no. It’s a metaphor. And besides. I wasn’t talking about the ground.” She shrugged. “Just… everything. The whole day. Meetings and scrambling to get things together and buttering up admirals and captains and science officers and- and all of it. It’s hard to believe I’ve been working all day, and now I’m here. Drinking brandy, with a Vulcan.”

It didn’t escape her notice that he intended to imply it could always be so. If she wanted, she could always come home to a dinner and drinks with a Vulcan. Him, to be precise. 

“Do you like me?” She asked, suddenly.

“I find you agreeable.” Sarek replied. 

“But do you _like_ me?” She asked. “As a person. My personality.”

He seemed to consider her question for a moment, seriously. She appreciated it- anyone else would have hurried to assure her that yes, of course they did. Not Sarek. He thought about it, and she liked that. 

“I mean…” She bit her lip. “You know. I’m not just some object you’re looking to acquire, right?”

“You are a person,” he said. “Not an object. I do not with to acquire you, I wish to marry you.”

“What’s the difference?”

His brows shot up. “What is the difference?”

“Humor me,” she said. She’d already explained the idiom to him.

He stared at her for a moment. Then, he said, “Amanda… to be my wife, would be… to make yourself most dear to me. I wish you to be my bondmate so that I will not be parted from you. To be together, now and always. You would belong to me only as I would belong to you. We would… become each other’s. I am not sure what differences there are between the bondmates of Vulcan and the spouses of Earth, but know that for you I would do most anything.”

She swallowed hard. “But would you love me?” 

He looked at his lap. For a moment, he was quiet. 

He said, “I do ‘like’ you, Amanda. Very much. You must understand, that for a Vulcan, emotions are… not as they are for humans. I experience our interactions in a different way than you, or any other human, would. It is imperative that I control and repress my emotions, as every Vulcan must. It is a little-known fact amongst off-worlders, but to experience too much emotion can be deadly to a Vulcan. We must mitigate what we feel. So know only that what I feel for you, I feel quiet strongly, for one of my species. I may not be able to express it as a human would, or experience it in the same matter, but the regard I have for you is real and true.”

She licked her lips and, slowly, nodded. “I… I will think about that. But the fact remains true, that you cannot love me like a human would. How would I know? How- how would I even know if you cared about me? Sarek, I… I can’t be married to someone who will never be able to express that they think I matter.”

He was silent. 

“You can learn human customs all you want. But I have to feel loved.”

“May I show you something?”

She blinked at the sudden turn in conversation. She looked up at him. “What?”

He stood. “I may be unable to express myself as a human would, but I believe you would be able to intemperate my expressions as a Vulcan.” He stopped before her. “May I show you?”

She felt herself blushing. “What… what do you want to show me, exactly?”

“Come.” 

She stood and followed him over to the couch, where he sat. She did so, as well, at his direction, so that they were next to each other. They turned to each other, knees nearly brushing. 

“So what is it?”

“I wish to show you the way Vulcan bondmates know one another,” he said. “It is… unorthodox, that we should engage in something such as this, unbonded, but I understand your need for evidence of my abilities.”

Her face was getting even redder. “You’ll forgive me for interpreting your words as a form of innuendo, I hope.”

He lifted a brow, before nodding to himself, saying, “It is the kash-nohv. The meeting of minds. It is an act which could be considered more intimate than sex. However, what I will show you will be brief and shallow, should you consent.”

She’s always been adventurous. “You… it won’t hurt me, will it?”

“It is painless.”

“I mean, it won’t change me. Do anything to me?”

“No. It will not.” 

She thought about it a moment more. “All… alright.” 

“It may be startling at first,” he said, and lifted a hand to carefully cradle her face. She leaned into his hand, which was cool and soft against he heat of her cheek. “Please do not struggle. It takes a moment to adjust to the presence of another, especially if you have never experienced telepathic communication before.”

“Okay,” she whispered. 

“You are certain?” He asked. 

“Yes,” she said. 

He arranged his fingers against her face. “My mind, to your mind,” he said. “My thoughts, to your thoughts.”

And she was gone. 

Gone. 

Floating, free, in space. She couldn’t breath, couldn’t scream, couldn’t struggle. Her heart started to beat frantically as panic set in, as she realized she’d lost all her senses, but as quickly as the panic came, it was gone. 

Sand. Miles and miles or hot sand. The sky was huge and lilac and beautiful. 

Sarek was a collection of wooden cogs and brass figures, all tidy and ticking together in time. He was a beautiful, antique machine, a wind-up music box, a carefully constructed animatronic, a grand piano, a water mill. And he…

He felt. 

It was indescribable. It was exactly as he had said--he felt, but not… not in a human way. She remembered reading Peter Pan as a child, and Peter explaining to Wendy Darling that fairies could only feel one emotion at a time, so of course, they felt them very strongly. To be filled only with one emotion was a great thing, of course. 

Sarek was sort of like that. Each emotion that crept its way to the surface was overwhelming, as though if it were not kept on a leash, it would fill him entirely. And he was not a fairy, who could only feel one at a time- it was so for each emotion swirling through his mind, threatening to overwhelm him should he not take care. Of course, to him, it was instinctive to repress them- but to Amanda, who was experiencing Vulcan emotion for the first time, it was… it was like falling and having the wind knocked from her. 

She was spared the floundering that came with the real act of having her breath taken away. Sarek was there, somehow, in this place that did not exist in space or time, with her. He carefully untangled her from him. 

_See_? He seemed to say. _Do you understand now?_

And she did.

They came apart suddenly. She breathed in deeply through her nose, exhaling through her mouth, and looked up at Sarek as he gently drew his hand away from her face. The tips of his ears were flushed, and his pupils had been blown wide.

She licked her lips. His eyes followed the movement.

"I see," she said.

"Were we bonded, I would communicate to you thusly. You would not doubt your importance to me."

She nodded.

They sat in silence for a time.

“It’s late,” she said, quietly. “I should go.”

He nodded. 

They did no move. 

“I really… I should. I should go.”

She forced herself to stand, shaking off the lingering vestiges of the meld. She started towards the door. She didn’t hear Sarek move, so she looked behind her, to see if he was going to show her out like he usually did. He was coming, having moved back to the table to retrieve her jacket, which she’d slung over her chair. 

“Oh, thank you.” She let him help her into it, smiling lightly. “I… I’ll see you tomorrow, then? Dinner, same time?”

“It would be my pleasure.” 

She nodded. “Goodnight, Sarek.” She turned to leave. 

“Amanda.”

She turned. 

“You have not yet answered my question.”

She waited. 

“Will you marry me?” He asked.

She smiled, gently, and laid her hand on his shoulder. “Ask me again tomorrow,” she said, and then stepped through the door. “Goodnight, Sarek.”

“Goodnight, Amanda.” 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you like my work, consider checking out my original content [here](https://books2read.com/u/3R1aRn)!


	3. Chapter 3

 

“So how was it?”

Amanda looked up into the mirror. Lee stood behind her, doing her hair. “How was what?”

Lee rolled her eyes. “You know. Last night? Sarek? The date?”

“The date that you orchestrated,” Amanda said mildly.

Lee grinned. “I’m sure I don’t know what you mean.”

“Of course you don’t,” Amanda laughed. She shrugged. “It was fine.”

“Fine? That’s all you have to say?”

Amanda finished brushing her hair and turned around. “What would you like me to say? That he swept me off my feet? That we danced the night away, fell deeply, terribly in love, and that I agreed to marry him on the spot?”

“Something along those lines, yes.” She sighed. “So you turned him down then, huh?”

“…”

Lee began to regain her grin. “Amanda Grayson, you sly fox. You said yes!?”

“No.”

Lee’s smile fell. “Well then what? You're still going with 'maybe?'”

“I… I told him to ask me again, tonight.”

“I don’t understand.” Lee’s brow furrowed. “Why would you do that? If you told him to ask again, that would mean you know your answer, and if you know your answer, then why wouldn’t you tell him then and there? Especially if you’re just going to turn him down!”

“Ask me tomorrow is answer on its own,” Amanda said. “It means he still has a chance, but he doesn’t have me yet.”

“You  _are_  sly!” Lee gasped.

“One can only hope.” Amanda smiled. “Breakfast?”

They began towards the mess. “I can’t believe it. Any of it. I mean, what kind of siren are you? You, you succubus. You minx.” She laughed. “God, you’re probably the first human in history to ever receive a proposal of marriage from a Vulcan. How romantic is that?”

“I wouldn’t be the first human to marry a Vulcan,” Amanda said. “That was Commander Charles Tucker the third- also the first biologically male human to become pregnant, too. The man took a lot of firsts.”(1)

“That’s…” Lee blinked at her. “An interesting combo.”

Amanda and Lee entered the mess hall and headed for the banquet set out for the guests. Amanda picked over the choices and settled on pancakes, scrambled eggs, and a sliced alien fruit that was vaguely phallic. She’d made it a task to try something she’d never had before at every meal she took in mess.

“Anyway, that’s just another problem.”

“What is? The- the pregnant commander guy?”

“No,” Amanda laughed. “The rarity of human-Vulcan relations. If I’m to become famous, I want it to be because of the translator. Not because I’m some Ambassador’s trophy wife.”

“If anything, he’d be a trophy husband, wouldn’t he?” Lee laughed. “I can see the headlines now- Doctor Grayson, creator of the universal translator, marries hot Vulcan babe!”

“Keep working on it, Lee, when this is all over, maybe you can peruse journalism.”

They spotted Lamar and Simone across the mess and walked over to the other half of the team, who were arguing semantics. They stopped when Lee and Amanda sat, both turning, mouths open and poised.

“We’re not settling an argument,” Amanda said, before they could speak.

Lamar snapped his mouth shut and glared half-heartedly.

Simone said, “Isn’t your boyfriend supposed to be the one with mind-reading powers?”

“He is not my boyfriend,” Amanda said.

“Your fiancé then?” Simone asked. “You did go to his room for dinner last night, didn’t you? Did you accept his proposal?”

“Doesn’t anyone want to know how my meeting with Doctor Kossar went?” She groaned. “Or how my integration of the Vulcan language into the translator is going?”

“Pass,” Lamar said. “We’ll take the gossip, thanks.”

“So?” Simone said. “What’s the verdict, Misses Ambassador?”

Amanda snorted. “That’s Doctor Ambassador, to you.”

“So you said yes then?!”

“No,” she said.

Simone sighed in relief. “Oh thank god. Did you let him down easy?”

“No.”

“Amanda, you brute! Did you throw water in his face? Oh, did you-“

“I told him to ask me again later,” she said. She dug into her pancakes.

They were staring at her.

“This maple syrup,” she said, “Is replicated.”

“You told him to ask you again.”

“Yes, I believe that’s what I just said. Don’t you want to know how it is I figured out the syrup was replicated?”

“You’re Canadian,” Lamar dismissed. “Why’d you tell him to ask you again later?”

“Waste not, want not,” she said. When they continued to gape at her, she said, “You know, all three of you have been hung up over how attractive he is. I’d like to see any one of you turn him down flat.”

“He may be hot,” Simone said, “But I wouldn’t want to marry the guy!”

“You don’t know him,” Amanda said.

“And you do?”

She forced herself not to blush. She stared Simone down. “Yes,” she said. “And I’m not certain I  _wouldn’t_  want to marry him. He is… an interesting man.”

“Yeah, interesting goes a long ways, but all the way to the chapel?” Simone snorted. “Forget it, sister. But, hey, you know, if you think that’s what you want-“

“I don’t know if it’s what I want. That’s why I have yet to give him an answer.”

“The last day of the conference is tomorrow,” Lamar said. “You really think you can decide if you want to marry him by then?”

“I… hadn’t thought about that,” Amanda said. "Like I said before, why should the conference be the only allotted time I have?"

“Well after this he’s probably back to Vulcan, right?” Simone said.

“I’m unsure.”

Lee said, “If the stakes were that high- if it was marry him or never see him again- which would it be?”

“I don’t know,” she said. “I… this is a lot to think about. And you three are not being helpful. In case you’ve forgotten, we’re here for the translator, not interspecies romance.”

“Why not both?” Lee asked. 

“She has a point,” said Lamar, who seemed to be getting closer and closer to falling in favor of Sarek each moment.

At least Simone was there to keep the balance. “You are all insane. I mean, what happens if she says yes? He carts her off to Vulcan and we put the translator to bed? Tuck it in, give it a bottle? Sing it a lullaby?”

Lamar groaned, “Simone-“

“Put on some Mozart? Rock it’s crib so it won’t wake up? Get an extra blanket for it incase it gets cold in the night?”

“Simone, for the love of-“

“Buy a humidifier so it sleeps well? Hire- hire a babysitter, to make sure it stays asleep, while we go out for the night? Get a- get a fucking mobile to lull it back to bed if it wakes up? Go ahead and-“

“Simone!” Lamar snapped. “Jesus H. Christ!”

“Simone’s… analogy aside,” Amanda said. Sometimes, she had no idea how it was that  _these_  were the brightest minds on the team. “Even if I did marry him, I wouldn’t abandon the project. I wouldn’t—couldn’t—do that to us.”

“Good,” Simone said, strongly. “Cuz if you abandon us to chase after some hot Vulcan d-“

“I’d rather you didn’t finish that sentence,” Amanda sighed. “And I must inform you that I wouldn’t be doing this because Sarek is… attractive.”

“Why else would you?”

Amanda raised her brows. “Why does anyone get married?”

“Surely you can’t be talking about _feelings_ ,” Simone scoffed.

Lee grinned. “What else would there be?”

Lamar said, “When it comes to Vulcan, literally anything else.”

“Oh, come on. Even if he can’t feel things, ‘Manda certainly can.” Lee turned to her withgrin. “And if I know you—and oh, I do—there’s something there.”

“Something, maybe,” Amanda said. “He is… certainly fascinating.”

“Uh oh,” Lamar said.

Simone sighed.

Lee giggled and covered her mouth, eyes shining in glee.

Amanda sat up a little taller, bristling at the lot of them. “What?”

“You said the word,” Lamar said.

“What word?”

“Fascinating!” Lee said.

“I say it often enough,” Amanda said.

“Yes, but only about things that really grasp your interest. I don’t know if you’ve ever called a  _person_  fascinating. It may be as close to a crush as I’ve ever seen you come.” Lee grinned wide, leaning across the table to place her hands over Amanda’s. “Tell me, my dear, what does it feel like to be consumed by the throes of passion?”

“You think I have a crush?” Amanda mused. “I’m not sure that’s what I’d say.”

“Well I’d say it’s something—something significant,” Lee said. “Enough to make you think so hard about this, so seriously. I don’t reasonably see you saying no, Amanda, I really don’t.”

_Neither do I_ , she thought, but she kept it to herself. Just because she wasn’t inclined to say no didn’t mean she was going to say yes. Sarek had a lot more convincing to do before she reached that point.

Lee’s watch beeped. Then Lamar’s comm went off, and then Simone’s PADD. Amanda’s PADD beeped last, but she turned it off before it made it through an entire chime.

“As you’re all so keen to forget,” Amanda said, “We have work to do.”

They all stood.

“See you tonight?” Lee asked.

“Yep,” said Simone.

“I’ll have pizza ordered in by the time you guys get back.”

Amanda was last to reply. “I have dinner with Sarek again, tonight, but I’ll see you when I’m done.”

“Or will you?” Lee asked, and wiggled her brows.

Amanda just barely resisted the urge to roll her eyes. “Yes,” she said. “You will.”

 

* * *

 

When she got to Sarek’s room, she pressed the chime as usual. What wasn’t usual was the fact that she was not granted immediate access. She furrowed her brow and checked her watch—she was there on time, as usual, so where was Sarek?

She reached up to the door. “Computer, is room currently occupied?”

“ _Unoccupied,”_ the computer said.

She furrowed her brow. Somehow, she’d beaten him back to his rooms. She took out her comm to send him a message, but she didn’t even get so far as selecting his contact before she spotted him coming down the hall.

Sarek did not rush. He glided, purposefully.

She smiled and shook her head, marveling again at Vulcan grace. He was beautiful, in an odd way- beautiful in the way a sterilized lab was beautiful, beautiful in the way a plain of glass was beautiful, beautiful like… well, like a Vulcan.

“Hello, Ambassador,” she said, smiling at him.

“Amanda. I apologize for my tardiness.”

She stepped aside so that he could let them into the room. “I’m sure it was no fault of your own.”

“I was unable to extradite myself from conversation with Admiral Turner.”

“He’s a chatty fellow, that one.” She’d had a presentation with him the other day. “How did you manage to slip away from him?”

“I informed him I was late for a date with a very punctual doctor and that I did not wish to keep her waiting.” The door slid open before them.

Amanda laughed and followed him into the hotel room. “I think that’s the first time the word ‘punctual’ has ever felt like a compliment.”

“I assure you, I meant no compliment. Only the truth.”

“Oh, why, I’d never accuse you of paying me a  _compliment_ , Ambassador.” She laughed.

“That is logical, as I would not,” he said. He started towards his inner room.

Amanda stepped into the kitchenette. “Do you want me to make dinner?” She called.

“I was prepared to make a meal—“

She began to poke around the cupboards and refrigeration unit. “Don’t worry. I can see you have other things to do.” She bent down to look in the lower cabinets.

He appeared in the doorway of his room. “If it is no trouble for you.”

“It’s not. How does Mujaderra sound? It’s, uh, lentil and rice pilaf with browned onions. It looks like you have all the ingredients here.”

“I have never had Mujaderra,” he said. “I would be amendable to trying it.”

“Then that’s what we’ll have.”

He nodded his consent and then disappeared back into his inner room.

Amanda got to work cooking. “Computer,” she said, and smiled. “Play composition one.”

It did. She moved to the music, standing in place, a sway in her hips. She’d missed cooking—she hadn’t really had the time to do it much, as of late. It was all replicated foods, half-ignored in favor of pouring over code and research notes. Especially now that they were so close to finishing the translator. She decided on a whim to make some Baba Ganoush to pair with some sort of flat-bread from Vulcan that the Ambassador had stored in one of the cabinets.

The apartment was already hot to begin with, but by the time she had the meal half-way finished, it was nearly unbearable. She slammed back a tall glass of water and made a diversion to the couch to pull off her outer layers like the night before, so that she was left in her slacks and undershirt. Barefooted, she made her way back to the kitchen.

The Ambassador emerged from his rooms, then. His hair was wet—that was the first thing she noticed about him—he must have showered. He was holding a bottle of red.

“I guess it would be against our tradition to have dinner without a little bit of liquor,” Amanda mused. “Where did you get that?”

“It was a gift,” he said. “From Doctor Lee Zhao.”

Amanda laughed. “Of course it was.”

“She had hoped I would use it on our last date. I doubt she will mind if we drink it now.”

“Hm…” Amanda paused to think. “How about we save it?”

“For?” He asked.

“Well, you don’t have any more alcohol here. And I know Lee certainly doesn’t have any left to present us with. We should save it- for tomorrow. A farewell drink.”

“Then you intend to reject my proposal.”

“I meant farewell to the conference, Sarek,” she said. “Patience.”

“I find that when it comes to the matter at hand, I have very little.” He made his way into the kitchen. He was wearing loose, casual robes, and his face was slightly flushed- probably from the hot water of the shower. He smelled familiar- a taste she couldn’t place, exactly. Lemongrass, perhaps?

Amanda said, “What happened to that famous Vulcan unshakability?”

“We do not like to be uncertain,” he said, plainly.

“Then perhaps you were a tad hasty in your proposal,” she said. “As I am certain to make you  _un_ certain time and time again.”

“This is something I am willing to indulge.”

“Are you, though?” She turned the stove off and turned around, hand on her hip. “How long are you willing to wait for my answer?”

“I cannot give you a definite measure of time.”

“Can you give me an approximation?”

“I cannot know what variables the future will hold.”

“Imagine there are none. If we were to continue like this, just how long would you be able to stand my human indecisiveness?”

“I cannot say ‘as long as it would take,’” Sarek said, “As I do not know how long that would be. However, I can say that I would make it my most ardent intention to wait as long as it took for your provided answer. Is this answer ‘good enough’ for you?”

“It will suffice.” She teased. She turned back to the stove. “Dinner’s served.”

“I will get the cutlery.”

She smiled as he moved about her in the kitchen. She served them both, putting the dishes at the table, while Sarek filled them both a glass of water and found silverware, along with napkins, to complete the placement.

“No candle tonight?” Amanda teased.

“Would your prefer to have one?” He asked.

“What logical purpose does a candle have?” She re-directed.

“In this instance, none.”

“And yet, you’d be willing to provide one for me?”

“If it is what you want,” he said, simply, “Then yes.”

“Hmm…” She nodded to herself and then sat. “I can do without the candle.”

“Why the line of inquiry if you did not want one?” He asked. He sat as well.

She smiled. “I’m collecting data, of course.”

He turned to his food and began to eat, silent.

Amanda followed suit.

“Do you like it?” She asked after a few bites.

“It is palatable.”

“Yes, but do you… hmm, what’s the word? I can’t say enjoy, that would be too emotional.” Her eyes glittered with humor. “Would you request that I make it for you again, Sarek?”

“I would,” he said.

“Good.”

They returned to their meal, Beethoven playing softly in the background.

“Do you want kids?” She asked, suddenly.

“Pardon?”

“Children,” she said. “Would you ever want to have them?”

He paused to think about it. “It is not something I had considered. Would you?”

“I have a feeling you’ll tailor your answer to please me.”

“I will not,” he said. “I am Vulcan. I cannot lie.”

“Even still,” she said.

He was silent. For a good measure of time, in fact, he did not speak- an entire waltz played through his silence. He ate. And as another waltz began, Amanda began to wonder if he was ignoring her question completely.

He wasn’t. “I would like to have children,” he said. “I am uncertain if we would be able to procreate. If not, there are plenty of children in the universe in need of caretakers. I would be… agreeable to raising children with you. However, if you do not wish to have children, it is not something so important to me that I will suffer without.”

“It’s funny—Lee says I’m not really the type, but… I’ve always wanted to be a mother. I love kids; they’re so bright, and curious, and imaginative. And that’s something I hadn’t considered—the fact that we might not be able to have offspring together. It’s… definitely something I’d want, though, if… if it were possible.”

He nodded.

“What about a pet?”

“I am not totally acclimated to the way you speak yet,” Sarek said. “Please phrase your question with specification.”

She laughed. “Alright, my mistake. Would you be agreeable to having a pet in our house?”

“It is common to have house-hold pets on Vulcan. Especially if a family has children.”

“Good, good. If we can’t have kids, we have to at least have a cat.”

“Perhaps a sehlat,” he suggested.

“A sehlat?”

“It is…” he seemed to struggle with a description. “Akin to what you would call a ‘teddy bear,’ I believe. That is as close an approximation as I can give you, as no creature exactly like it exists on Earth.”

“A teddy bear, huh? Well, that sounds charming enough.” She smiled. “Where would we live?”

“Where you would like. I am most comfortable on my home planet, but as the Ambassador to Earth, it would be just as logical that I remain here.”

“Vulcan,” she breathed. “Now that would be an awfully great adventure…”

“Are you still ‘collecting data,’ or are you making conversation?”

“A little bit of both, perhaps.” She smirked at his expression. “Has anyone ever teased you at all, Sarek? You look completely scandalized every time I so much as prod you.”

“You have not prodded me.”

“Theoretically I have.” She laughed as he raised his brow, saying, “See? Are you sure you could stand a life time of someone ‘prodding’ you, Sarek? I’ve been told that I only get worse.”

“It is not unpleasant, merely surprising. I am certain I will grow used to it.”

“I wouldn’t bet on it,” she said.

“Nor would I, as betting is based in chance and luck, both of which are illogical and unsuited to any Vulcan.”

She laughed again.

They fell back into companionable silence. Amanda realized she’d over-cooked the onions, just barely, but they weren’t bad. She wondered if Sarek had noticed.

“I find that agreeable.”

She looked up at him. “Now who’s phrasing their speach without specification?”

“Your laughter,” he said. “I find the sound agreeable.”

It was nothing. Just a small comment, something that anyone might mention in passing. And yet, she still felt herself flushing. She dropped her eye, smiling fondly down at her plate, and tucked a stray lock of hair back behind her ear. “Thank you,” she said.

He didn’t reply.

“If we got married, would you be comfortable with me being independent of you?”

“How so?”

“If, say, we lived on Vulcan, and I wanted to travel to Earth for… for a month, maybe, to attend a conference or something similar. Or if I wanted to come home for a couple of months, for no reason at all, even. Would you try to stop me? Would it bother you?”

“As I have previously stated,” Sarek said, “You are not a possession. Bonding is not an imprisonment, or a lease of yourself. You may do as you please. We are both adults capable of communication and compromise. If there is something you need, or want, then it is my responsibility as your bondmate to assist you in your journey.”

“No ball-and-chain, then?”

His brows shot up. “I was lead to believe-“

“It’s an expression,” she mused. “Though, sometimes, it’s a little closer to the truth than it should be.”

His brows came back down and his shoulders loosened. “I… see.”

“What’s your relationship with your parents?” She asked. “And would they even approve of me?”

“My father is named Skon, the Ambassador to Earth before me. I believe as a translator himself, he would find our union… fitting.”

“Skon?” She asked. “As in, the same Skon who translated the teachings of Surak to English?”

“That is correct,” Sarek said.

“I- I’ve written papers on your father,” Amanda laughed. “And your mother?”

“She is T’Ris, an accomplished botanist.”

Amanda nodded. “And do you get along with them?”

“It is only logical,” he said.

She nodded. “Okay, last… last one for now.”

“Yes?”

“If I married you, and then, one day, decided I didn’t want to be married to you any longer. What would happen?”

“If you wished to be parted from me, it would be possible. It is not often that bondmates are parted, but it is something which can be done. I would not make it impossible for you to do.”

“How can you be sure?”

“Your suffering would be my own,” he said. “A bond is something which affects both bondmates. It is as the kash-nohv was- the be joined, together, in mind. What pain you had would become mine.”

“Wouldn’t that…” She furrowed her brows. “Wouldn’t that be hard for you? I’m human, I have so many emotions. And for you to feel them all the time?”

“We would be shielded from one another. We would not be melded together at all times—to do so would be to find madness, or lose one’s sense of self. Melding is important to me and my culture, but it is not a state of being which can be sustained constantly. Ours would be a link, only, which would connect us together mentally.”

“I’m not sure I understand.”

“I am uncertain how to explain such a thing,” he said. He paused. “It is… a connection.”

“Can you show me?” She asked.

“Show you?”

“With.. with the kash-nohv. The mind-meld?”

He considered it. “If you wish,” he said, “I could link us temporarily. It would last, perhaps, a day. It would be a shallow link; a shadow of what you would experience.”

“It will wear off?”

“Yes.”

Amanda nodded. “Let’s do it.” She stood and moved around to his side of the table, leaning her face towards him.

“Allow us to move to the sofa,” he said. “It may unbalance you, temporarily.”

She nodded again and slipped over to the couch. Her heart was beating faster than usual- adrenalin coursing through her veins. She was excited and nervous both at once. She reminded herself that it was temporary, so there was no need to be scared, but she couldn’t help it. Sarek, in her head, was a nerve-wracking thought. To Vulcans, it was natural, but for her, it was something else entirely.

She tried to remind herself that it didn’t matter if it seemed weird to him. He would not find it strange, even if her mind was different than that of a Vulcan’s. As a telepath who had previously had contact with other humans, he wouldn’t be shocked by her mind-set.

“Are you prepared?” Sarek brought her out of her thoughts.

She turned towards him. “Yes.”

“And you are certain that you want this? I will do nothing to make you uncomfortable, Amanda.” He reached out to touch her face, gently.

“Yes, I’m sure.”  
“If you wish to stop, you must make me aware. Once the bond is complete, I will be able to break it before it wears off, but it is a tiresome process that I believe you might find slightly unpleasant.”

“Would it hurt?”

“No,” he said. “No more than a sore muscle.”

She nodded. “Alright. I’m prepared. I’ll let you know if I change my mind.”

“My mind,” he said, “To your mind.”

_My thoughts,_  she heard him think, t _o your thoughts._

It wasn’t like the first time. Not at first. She didn’t panic, even though it felt anything but natural. She knew what to expect, this time around, and so it didn’t hit her like a freight train. Rather, it was dizzying; a blur of color and sensation and sound that she couldn’t pick apart at first.

She lost sense of herself. It wasn’t uncomfortable, like she might have imagined it would be. She was no body, or voice. She was thought, and soul, melded with the hot sands of the Vulcan desert, with the crisp start of Vulcan’s mid-day sky.

Amanda could feel Sarek in her head. Not like he was in a physical place, but he was… he was  _there_ , with her, in this nowhere place. It felt like wading through jelly, with no real legs—a sensation she was uncertain about processing.

There was something like a click, like an antique Lego brick being pushed into place, and then he was out. She opened her eyes, sensation slipping neatly back into place. She blinked rapidly and shook her head, swallowing down a breath as she recalled what it meant to have a body.

“Did you do it?”

“Yes,” he said.

“I don’t feel any different.”

“Close your eyes and attempt to locate the bond.”

She did. Sliding her eyes shut, she tried to feel about her mind. Somehow, she succeeded. He was there, just barely, a fuzzy presence in the back of her consciousness. “Can you feel what I’m thinking?”

“The link is not that strong. But I know where you are. And I know the general scope of your emotional state.”

_What if I try to communicate with you telepathically?_

“Yes, if you think very hard as such, I will be able to receive thoughts.”

_Really_?

His shoulders stiffened. “You do not need to… shout.”

She laughed a little. “Sorry. This is all very new to me. I’m probably behaving like a child.”

“Your behavior is… comparable, yes.” He said, “You will learn.”

“Faster than a child, I hope.” Seeing his eyes slide away from hers she said, “A human child, anyway.”

“You will,” he said. “Your emotions are…”

“Very human?”

“Less chaotic than anticipated.”

“Well,” she laughed, “Not all of us can live up to human expectations.”

“Mentally, we are extremely compatible.”

“I suppose that’s not too difficult a thing to find, is it? No two people are completely alike, no, but there are thousands of things any amount of people might have in common, right?”

“You are not wrong,” he said, “But mental compatibility is much more complicated than that. It is rare, and difficult to find.”

“But you propose to me out of the blue, and we’re compatible, hm?” She raised her brows. “That’s quite the coincidence, Ambassador.”

“I had suspected,” he said.

“I’m sure.” She said. She leaned back into the couch, tired. “Do you want to watch a holo?”

He seemed surprised by the sudden turn in conversation. “I… would not object.”

“You’ve got a beautiful projector in here, it would be a shame for it to go unused for your stay. What sort of movie do you want to watch? I’d suppose you’d like a documentary best, out of all the holos on file.”

“Whatever you decide.”

“Well you can’t blame me for selecting something random then. Let’s see…” she picked the remote up off of the coffee table in front of her and began to scroll through popular selections. “This one’s new. _Dawn on Terra_. Supposed to be pretty good, from what I’ve heard, even though I’m not really all that fond of romance movies.”

“If you are not fond of the genre, then why would you watch it?”

“I like to try new things,” she said, and selected it. “If nothing else, we can ignore the movie almost completely and talk over it. That’s what Lee and I do. When I was a teenager I couldn’t stand people talking over movies. Now I can never get through one without a snide remark or two; if you plan on the whole ’til death do we part thing, you better get used to it now.” She winked at him.

The movie was interesting, at the very least. Amanda didn’t pay rapt attention, but it was entertaining nonetheless—she didn’t fall asleep as it played, which was the real test. It was about a Betazoid boy who grew up on Earth and fell in love with his on-again-off-again rebellious human neighbor, Zia. Sweet as it was, Amanda and Sarek still talked over it- the former to joke, the latter to point out continuity errors and moments he believed illogical.

Slowly but surely, Amanda sunk further and further into the couch, until she became aware of the fact that she was touching Sarek’s side. She looked up at him, quickly, but he didn’t seem to have noticed—and if he did, he wasn’t showing it. He’d tell her if he was uncomfortable; he’d never had a problem correcting anyone before, and, well, if this was a date…

She leaned into his side. He looked down at her, lifting a brow.

“Put your arm up,” she said, quietly.

He stuck it straight up in the air. She rested her head on his shoulder and then delicately took his wrist in her hand, pulling his arm down and over her shoulders. 

She peered up at him, smiling. “Is this alright?”

“It is,” he said.

Amanda lost track of the movie about then. She could feel Sarek’s heart beating in his side, hard against her ribs. His body was cool and dry, alien in that he did not sweat. She certainly appreciated it. Up close, he was even more different than she’d realized. His skin had that slightly green color that was the trademark of Vulcans, and every bit of him seemed angled and precise, and inhuman. Even the dark of his eyes was unfamiliar, too pitch for a human of Earth. She supposed they would have evolved as thus to survive the harsh sun of Vulcan. That’s why the majority had dark hair, after all; it made sense they’d have the eyes to match.

He was handsome, no dout about it. She’d never really had a thing for older men—not that he was  _that_  much older—but there was something about Sarek she found undeniably attractive. She just couldn’t put her finger on it.

She idly took his hand and fit her fingers between his, smoothing their palms together, stroking her thumb over the back of his hand. The movie was getting close to the end, or at least, she hoped it was. It was good and all, but she was exhausted, and she didn’t want to fall asleep in Sarek’s room again; this time, Lee was bound to notice and draw the wrong conclusion.

Sarek’s heart was beating faster in his side, she noticed, suddenly. She looked up at him curiously and found the tips of his ears were flushed green. He looked down at her, making heavy eye contact. His pupils were blown.

“You… okay there?” She felt for the bond and found it… well, she had no other word for it; it was closed. “Why can’t I feel you in my head?”

“I am shielding,” he said.

“Why?”

It was only a split second, but his eyes darted to their linked hands. She turned to regard them as well. “What? Is my hand sweaty? I’m sorry if it seems gross to you—that’s just how we humans are.”

“You are unaware, then.”

“What?”

The link opened back up. Amanda was hit by a wall of lust.

“... Oh.” She managed, blindsided. She robotically released his hand.

“Vulcan hands are… extremely sensitive,” he managed. It sounded like the information came at great personal cost. “I would not have allowed you to continue if I had known you were unaware of the weight of your actions.”

“I’m so sorry!” She sat up straight, leaning away from him, to give him a chance to breath. “Oh, Sarek, why didn’t you tell me?”

“It seemed that you knew what you were doing.”

“Wha- no, I just wanted to hold your hand!”

“Which is what you did.”

“Yes, but. Sarek, it’s a… it’s a baby step for us humans. I didn’t know. God, have I been feeling you up the whole movie?”

“You were not.”

“Compare it to something humans do so I can understand the severity.”

He closed his eyes, briefly, and exhaled. If she hadn’t known any better, she would have said he was sighing. “Vulcans do not traditionally kiss with their mouths,” he said. “We use our hands, instead.”

“So… I’ve been accidentally making out with you.”

“In a manner of speaking.”

“Well…” She let out a sigh. “It is our second date, at the least.”

He raised a brow.

“There’s- it’s a stupid thing. Uh, not to ‘put out’ on the first date. It’s really silly, actually, you know, people should be able to do whatever they want whenever they want, and the whole premise is archaic, but…” She trailed off. “Yeah,” she finished, quietly.

He didn’t say anything.

“Sorry for kissing you.”

“It is not something you should apologize for. If I had been apposed I would have told you to stop. I am the one who should apologize, as I took advantage of your ignorance.”

She laughed. “No harm, no foul. We’ll call it even.” She looked down at her hand. Looking back up at Sarek, she gave a small grin. “Well, since I’ve jumped the gun… how about you show me what a Vulcan kiss is supposed to be liked?”

“Are you certain?”

“Never more so.”

“This is called ozh’esta.” He held up his index and middle finger. “Traditionally, it is for bondmates or T’hy’la.”

“What are T’hy’la?” She asked. She mirrored his action, holding up her hand for him to see. “Like this?”

“T’hy’la is a bond that transcends space and time. It is most sacred to Vulcans, and rare—something left from before the time of Surak. It is the bond between two warriors, brothers, friends, lovers. It is as close as we come to what you humans call soul mates.”

“How romantic,” she drawled. “And are we T’hy’la?”

“No,” he said. “There have not been any accounts of T’hy’la in eighty-one years.”

“Oh,” she said.

“However, we could be bondmates.”

She grinned. “Show me the ozh’esta, and we’ll go from there.”

He did. He reached out and traced his fingers over hers. She did the same to him, slowly, watching his eyes and his shoulders for any definable changes. He stared her down, unflinchingly, as they kissed.

It was sort of sweet, actually. And now that she knew what it meant to him, she couldn’t help but feel the intimacy of the action as well. She smiled and slowly pulled her hand away from his, marveling over the way she urged to reach out and touch his hand again.

“Romantic,” she said, again, to cover up her reaction. “Especially for a Vulcan custom.”

“I am pleased that you enjoy it.”

She smiled, but the gesture quickly morphed into a yawn. She stretched her arms over her head. “It’s late,” she said.

“It is,” said Sarek.

“And Lee will be expecting me.”

He had no reply.

As pleasant as the finger-kiss was, Amanda still couldn’t help but feel cheated, in a way, as she stood to collect her shirt and jacket. Sarek had gotten a full-on make-out session on the couch. Amanda had gotten to hold hands. It didn’t seem awfully fair. Though, she supposed that would on account of 'fair' being a human concept. 

“Allow me to escort you out,” Sarek said.

“Of course.”

She followed him to the door. When they got there, however, she made no move to leave. Similarly, Sarek didn't open the door for her as he had the nights before. He stood with his hands neatly clasped behind his back, regarding her.

“I had a good time tonight,” she said, just to fill the silence.

“I thank you for preparing us a meal,” he said.

“You are very welcome.” There was nothing left to say, then. She turned around, and stared at the door for a second. She could feel Sarek’s eyes on her, both physically, and through their temporary link. She put her hand on the door, but did not reach out for the control to open it. “Sarek,” she said.

“Yes, Amanda?”

She turned back around, resting against the door. She smiled when Sarek took a step closer to her, as if to hear her better. She knew it was a ruse. “Thank you for showing me how Vulcans kiss.”

“You are welcome.”

“I think it would be fair- nay,  _logical_ , for me to return the favor.” She grinned as he lifted a brow. “Would you like to experience a human kiss?”

“That would be agreeable,” he said.

Butterflies erupted in her stomach. She took a single step forward, so that they were nearly pressed chest-to-chest, and then stood on her toes to wrap her arms around his shoulders. She leaned up towards him, eyes sliding shut.

Their lips met.

She swallowed back a gasp as he surged towards her, hands resting carefully on her hips. She had meant for it to be a chaste kiss, but he was linked to her mind, and knew what she knew of kisses, or rather, what she wanted from them. He parted his lips hesitantly, a quick learner, and did not draw away as she sighed into his mouth.

They parted only when Amanda forced herself to draw back. She slowly opened her eyes, looking up at Sarek. She still held onto him, hands looped around his shoulders.

“Marry me,” he said.

She smiled; a small, clever gesture. “Ask me again tomorrow,” she said.

And with that, she stole away into the night,  allowing Sarek’s door to slide shut silently behind her. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (1) I know Trip died and also that he never married T’Pol but you know what fuck it I revise cannon and substitute it with my own version of events because the line is funny to me if nothing else.
> 
> If you like my work, consider checking out my original content [here](https://books2read.com/u/3R1aRn)!


	4. Chapter 4

“Gooooood morning, beautiful!”

Amanda groaned and rolled over onto her back, away from Lee and the woman’s infamously cold feet, which were perilously close to Amanda’s legs. “You understand I’ve gotten very little sleep, don’t you?”

“Oh, ‘Manda, come now. You’re the only other morning person I’ve ever met. Don’t abandon me now!” 

From the other bed, Lamar said, “Shut. Up.”

Lee looked up at him and said, “To silence another being is a form of violence.”

“You’re gonna see all kinds of violence if you don’t shut up,” Simone muttered. 

Lee gasped, as though scandalized. “My own teammates, turning against me?”

“We were never _with_ you to begin with,” Lamar said.

Simone tiredly slipped out of bed, padding to the bathroom. “What he said.”

“And, what’s this?” Lee put a hand to her chest. “Lamar and Simone… agreeing on something? ‘Manda, get up, check the Times—the world is coming to an end, I just know it.”

“Lee,” Amanda said, “I am much too tired for this.”

Lee pouted at her. 

“LEE!” Came a Simone’s voice from the bathroom.

“Cheese and crackers,” Lee whispered. Louder, she said, “Yeah!”

Simone appeared in the doorway, bleary-eyed and furious. “Your hair is in my fucking toothbrush!” 

Lee pouted. “Wh- you don’t know that it’s my hair. ‘Manda has long hair too-“

“It’s fucking blue!” Simone said. “You are the only person here with blue hair!”

“I’ve been set up,” Lee said. 

Simone growled and then prowled back into the bathroom. “If you’re gonna shed everywhere, brush your hair outside!” 

Lee frowned. “Well. We are all just. Very friendly this morning, aren’t we?”

“Last day of the conference,” Lamar reminded them all. “Keep it together.”

“Last day of the conference,” Amanda echoed. “Fingers crossed for funding.”

Lee started talking about the morning’s schedule that she and Amanda would follow through. Amanda drifted back to sleep, tired down to her very bones. Why, oh why, had she stayed so late at Sarek’s? Well, she knew why, but still. 

Sudden cold air met Amanda’s belly. Her eyes snapped open just in time to watch Lee descend upon her exposed stomach. Lee blew a loud, sloppy raspberry into Amanda’s skin, just above her belly button.

“LEE!” Amanda screeched. She pushed her partner off of her and jumped out of bed, yanking her pajama top back down over her stomach. She scowled. 

Lee was howling with laughter, rolling around on the bed.

“You are not a child,” Amanda sniffed. Still, she couldn’t help but grin—Lee’s good mood was contagious. 

“Come on, ‘Manda, live a little!” She sat up on her knees and walked herself to the edge of the bed, reaching out to cup Amanda’s face. Amanda allowed it. “My beautiful, brown-eyed girl.”

“Do not sing.”

“Do you remember when we used to sing?” Lee crowed. “Sha la la la la la la la la la la dee dah!” 

“Please desist.” 

“My brown-eyed girl!” She threw her head back. “You! My brown-eyed girl!”

Amanda extricated herself from Lee’s grasp. “You are a nuisance.” 

Lee made a loud kiss-noise. Amanda gently pushed her off.

Amanda started to get ready. Simone and Lamar evacuated the room first, arguing passionately over the specifics of inter-planetary beaming, time zones, and time itself. Amanda tried her best to avoid listening in on them—it always ended up with her being drawn into said argument to tell them, most often, that they were both wrong. Of course, they usually knew that—they argued just to argue—but no one liked being corrected. 

She hopped in the shower while Lee blared music out in the main room. Even through the door, and over the water, she could hear Brown Eyed Girl playing. Lee was determine to get it stuck in both of their heads, it seemed. 

She wondered; if she got a song stuck in her head, would Sarek get it stuck in his as well?

As she wondered that, she felt for the link. It was there- fuzzy, but present, in the back of her head. _Sarek?_ she thought, experimentally. 

His voice came to her instantaneously. _Yes?_

She grinned and reached up to lather her hair. _Just testing this thing out_ , she thought. _Have you already had breakfast, or would you like to join Lee and I?_

_I have already taken my first meal_ , he thought to her. 

It was so odd—to have someone talking directly into her head. It wasn’t even his voice, really, it was… the voice he thought with. It wasn’t too different; it was a lot like hearing someone talk in a different language after becoming used to them speaking another; each new language meant a new voice. 

Sarek: _I am meditating, currently, to prepare myself for the day._

Amanda: _Oh, am I bothering you?_

Sarek _: No. For a Vulcan, it is natural to share ones’ mind with another._

Amanda: _But still—I’m basically talking to you, aren’t I? Doesn’t that hinder meditation?_

Sarek _: Where I new to the practice, perhaps. It is easy to center myself about you._

She smiled to herself. _Well, it may not distract you, but it’s certainly distracting me._ She rinsed her hair out and forced herself to concentrate on putting conditioner in it. _Should we have lunch?_

_That would be acceptable. Would you like to come to my rooms?_

She laughed to herself, softly. _That would be acceptable,_ she mimicked. 

The link closed. She could still feel it, like a thread wrapped about her finger, but it not longer sent anything through to her. She finished washing up and then got dressed and did her hair, finally emerging to to the main room, where Lee was waiting for her.

“What were you doing?” Lee asked.

“Hm?”

“In the shower. I heard you giggling.”

Amanda smiled. “Oh, just thinking.” 

They left the room, bags in hand, and started towards the mess. “Oh? About what?”

Amanda decided she might not say. If she told Lee she’d been thinking about Sarek and giggling, she’d never live it down—besides, she had only been laughing at him, not… about him. She would re-direct with something just as tantalizing.“Do you think my parents would like Sarek?”

“That’s what you were thinking?” Lee appraised her with a shrewd eye. 

“Well, do you?”

“Leapin’ lizards,” Lee said. “You haven’t even told them yet, have you?”

“I hadn’t even thought about it until just now.” She admitted. “What would I tell them, anyway? Oh, mom, dad, just thought I’d check in—an Ambassador proposed to me out of the blue and I’m not sure I can turn him down.” 

“Your mom would freak out,” Lee chuckled. 

Amanda grimaced, just thinking about it. “Yes,” she mumbled, “She would.”

“But your dad would be like ‘okay honey just tell us the wedding dates and we’ll be there.’ That or he’d have a stroke. You can never quite tell with him.”

“Either would be very like him,” Amanda sighed. 

“Oh and Doris would be pissed.”(1)

“Let’s not think about it,” Amanda said. They entered the mess and started towards the food. 

“Let’s,” Lee insisted, gleefully. “She’d perform a full background check on him, fly out to your location, scream at him, scream at you, scream at you as a duo, and then promptly fuck back off to Canada, glaring daggers at Sarek as she went.”

“That sounds about right,” Amanda sighed. 

“And Sable would be besides herself with glee. I’m telling you now—when she finds out-“

“If.”

“When she finds out,” Lee continued, stubbornly, “She’s going to scream with excitement.”

They sat down with their food. Amanda sipped at her tea and massaged her temple. It was the last day of conferences and meetings and presentations, and once all ways said and done, she could go back to being the reclusive doctor who spent all her time holed up in her home office working on translations. That, or she got to move on to being the head of an actual Starfleet project.

Either way, she was glad. She wasn’t built for so much daily chaos. Though, as far as she knew, most of the people at the conference weren’t stretching themselves as thin as she and her team were—maybe no one was built for so much daily chaos.

“Ready for a last hurrah?” Lee asked. 

Amanda grinned. “Are you?”

 

* * *

 

She felt Sarek before she saw him.

The turbo lift opened and she stepped in with a grin, marching straight up to the Vulcan. “Why hello there,” she said. “Fancy seeing you here.”

He raised a brow at her. 

“Going up?” She teased.

“You know that I am,” he said. 

She fell into place beside him, hands linked behind her back as she regarded him. The lift soared up to their stop in seconds. 

They walked to his door. Amanda wondered at the feeling of him—she was hyperaware of Sarek at her side, simply because her mind told her that he was there. At one point in the week she had felt that if she were to reach out and attempt to touch him, her fingers would slide right past him, as though he were a ghost. With the link anchored in her mind, the walls and floors felt less real than he did; he was more solid than anything else in the universe, as he existed not only physically at her side, but also within her mind. 

They stopped at the door to Sarek's rooms. Sarek let them in, motioning for her to enter first. She nodded her head at him and proceeded inside, heaving herself into her usual chair at the table. 

“You appear to be tired.” Sarek asked. 

Amanda looked back at him. “I am,” she said. “This conference has taken more out of me than expected. You can thank yourself for a part in that, by the way—I’m emotionally exhausted on top of everything else.” 

“I have asked no emotions from you.”

“But you certainly have inspired them,” she teased.

He lifted a brow and then sat himself across from her. “Are you hungry?” He asked.

“Yes. What do you say to replicated food? I’m ravenous enough to turn down home-cooked in the name of efficiency.” 

“If that is what you want.”

“I’ll get it in a minute,” she said—mostly to herself.

“Do not trouble yourself,” he stood. “What is it you would like?”

“Oh, thank you, Sarek—you’re so thoughtful. I hadn’t thought about it. What are you having?”

“Goros’ves,” he said. “It will pair nicely with the wine.”

“I’d forgotten about the wine!” She sat up a little straighter. “You really think we should pre-game the banquet?”

“Pre-game?” He asked.

“It can mean a lot of things, but most often it means drinking before you show up to a function where you’ll be expected to do more drinking. Not very logical, I’m afraid; it’s a very human thing.”

He looked over at the bottle of wine sitting on the counter. He didn’t make a face, but… he did. Amanda laughed, softly.

“Yeah,” she said. “Perhaps you should save the wine for another special occasion. It was a gift for you, after all—you don’t have to share it with me.”

He turned to the replicator. “What would you like to eat?”

“Would you mind just getting me a turkey sandwich? With provolone cheese, please, I’m not fond of the sharp cheddar it auto-pairs with.” She smiled as he did as she asked. 

“Would you like anything to drink?”

“Just water, please.” She preened as he brought her the meal. “You are wonderful. I’m sure you don’t hear it often enough.”

He raised a brow.

She grinned at him. “So, just in case, I will say it again; you are wonderful.”

“I heard you the first time,” he said. He went to retrieve his own food. 

“I know. But sometimes it’s nice to hear it a couple of times, don’t you think?”

“I have heard it before. I do not see why I would need to hear it again.” 

She grinned. “Human emotionalism, Sarek. We like to have things repeated for us—but only the good things. Once will do for about anything else. Though, there’s that fine line of human forgetfulness, too… I’m rambling now. I really am tired.” 

“You speak more when you are tired?” He began to eat. 

“Sometimes.” She took a bite of her sandwich. As usual, there was the definite ‘replicator’ taste when she swallowed, but it wasn’t too bad. She took a drink of her water. “Sometimes I get so tired I can barely talk at all, but that comes after the rambling.” 

“I see,” he said. 

“I feel that any time you say that, you’re covering up for the fact that you find no logic whatsoever to the situation at hand.” She grinned and leaned forward. “Am I correct?”

He lifted a brow at her and turned down to his food.

“Thought so,” she smirked. 

They ate in silence. Amanda was grateful for the reprieve—every time she’d eaten with the Ambassador previously, their meals had been frequented by conversation. She was hungry and exhausted, though, and the thought of exchanging pleasantries with Sarek wasn’t particularly appealing in that very instant. She was glad to know hw felt the same—he’d told her before that pleasantries and small talk were pointless, even if he had delegated to practice it with her as one of the techniques for communicating with humans. 

When she finished her sandwich she leaned back in her chair, closing her eyes. Would it be rude to fall asleep right then and there? She’d passed out at his table before, after all, and he hadn’t seemed to mind. Though, they knew each other better now—would he find it odd that she allowed herself to fall asleep in his presence? 

“What would you do if I fell asleep at the table?”

He looked up at her. “I would be silent so as not to wake you.”

Well. That was that, then. She laughed a little. “Would it bother you if I were to relax over on your couch? I have…” she checked her PADD. “A little less than thirty minutes before I have to leave.”

“You may do as you please.”

She stood and padded over to the couch, gratefully sinking down into the cushions. The couch was so long that she didn’t even take it up entirely with her body. She closed her eyes and let out a long sigh, only opening them again when she felt Sarek sit as well. She leaned her head back to look at him, as he sat next to her head. She smiled at him. He raised a brow. 

“Hello there, stranger.” 

“I am not a stranger. You know me quite well.”

“Quite well, hm?” She reached up and pushed the bangs away from his forehead on a whim—being tired made her bold, and impulsive. “Well enough to be my husband, hm, Sarek?”

“Perhaps,” he said. He allowed her to touch his hair.

“Don’t you find me strange and silly?”

“If you to be sleep deprived,” he said. 

“You’ve been getting about as much sleep as I have,” she said. “And you’re behaving perfectly well.”

“Vulcans do not require nearly as much sleep as humans do.”

“Luck you,” she said. “Sarek, I may just be a tad bit jealous of your Vulcan abilities.”

“Were we bonded, you would share some of them.” 

She raised a brow. “Oh? Now that sounds like a great way to bribe me into marrying you. Let’s hear it. What are my potential benefits?”

“You would need less sleep, for one.”

“Sold,” she joked. 

“… Sold?”

“Nothing. Continue, please.”

He nodded. “Very well. You would have a clearer mind, and improved cognitive abilities. I am uncertain of other… side-effects.” 

“Side-effects has a negative connotation,” she said, sleepily. She covered her mouth as she yawned, managing to say, “Don’t use that in the future.”

He nodded.

She closed her eyes again, lowering her hand from his bangs, until her elbow rested on the couch and her arm leaned against his. She could feel him in her mind, again; a soothing, warm presence--just barely there. She had to concentrate to feel it, and so she did. 

Next thing she knew, she was fast asleep. 

 

* * *

 

“Help me, help me, help me—I’m dying, help me!” 

Amanda rolled her eyes and stood up on the bed. “Hold still.”

Lee’s head was bent at an awkward angle. She’d gotten her hair stuck in the zipper of her dress, somehow, and looked about two seconds away from crying. She’d always had a very tender head. “'Manda I’m going to die, please hurry.”

Amanda smiled at her, reassuringly, and got to work on freeing her friend’s hair. Lee had curled her hair, pinning some of it up in a bun and braid, and letting the rest fall loose around her shoulders. She had several silver star pins sticking out of the blue updo; a walking embodiment of early morning blue sky.

Her dress was long and silk, with a slit up the side that offered a tempting view of her leg. It was what she called “Slytherin green,” and was decorated beneath the breasts with small tears of silver. She had gloves that matched her dress, which went nearly to her elbow, and black strappy heals. She looked absolutely stunning.

“There. You’re free.” Amanda stepped back to admire the doctor.

“You better not have messed up her makeup,” Simone threatened. She was doing Lamar’s makeup at the desk. 

Simone looked beautiful too, in a shin-length, strapless black velvet dress. She had heals and a choker to match; the only spot of color on her was the rose pin in her short blond hair, and the matching red of her lips. Even her glasses were framed in black; not to mention her nails. She was certain to have more than her fair share of people drooling over her. 

Lamar was in a navy three-piece, with hints of sunshine yellow and gray. He’d shined his shoes meticulously, so that Amanda could nearly see her reflection in the toe. He was also wearing his dad’s old silver watch—an actual watch, not a timekeep like the one Lee wore sometimes; a near antique. He looked wonderful, and when Simone was through with his face, he was probably going to look even more stunning. 

Amanda herself was just getting finished. She had her wine-red evening gown on, black heals, her white evening gloves, and a string of pearls around her neck. She’d let Simone do her makeup, and Lee had curled her hair. Amanda made a point to always look nice, but something about the material of the dress—the shimmer at the hem, the way it clung to her sides, something—made her feel enchanted. 

“Alright, done.” Simone stepped back from Lamar, nodding to herself. 

Amanda smiled. “Are we all good to go?”

“One last thing,” Lee said, and turned to Amanda. She grinned and then leaned in, kissing her full on the lips with a loud “Muw-ah!” 

Amanda jerked back, scowling, and resisted the urge to wipe her lips off. She’d smudge her lipstick. 

“For good luck,” Lee said, and grinned. She turned to Lamar, and did the same thing to him, but when she came to Simone she was stopped by a still-hot curling iron, which Simone brandished threateningly.

“Don’t even think about it,” Simone said. 

Lee pouted. “Cheese and crackers, Simone, it’s just a little peck on the lips.”

“You know how many diseases are communicated by mouth-to-mouth contact?” Simone glared. “Too many. As far as I know, you’ve got-“

“We’re ready, then.” Amanda cut them off before they could get going. She knew how it went—Simone said something of fact, and then Lee said something silly to rile her up, and then Simone got riled up, and then Simone would start yelling, and Lee would start laughing, and Lee would think it was all good fun right up until the very moment Simone started screaming. Amanda really didn’t have time for that. “Let’s go.” 

They left the hotel room, Lee and Lamar giggling together like children as they prodded at each other and made faces. Simone looked exceptionally regal, leading their group, and Amanda made sure that the door was closed, locked, and that no one was leaving anything trailing over the ground. (It had happened before.)

There were other people in the halls; glittered, smokey, beautiful and fearsome and wonderful. She felt like a kid in a candy store, treated to the sight of so many marvelous things. There were aliens and humans alike, all dressed to the nines. The only disappointment in the crowds came from the Starfleet officers, who were all in uniform, and as such didn’t prove any fun to look at; even if some of them had gotten creative with their hair and makeup. 

The lift was jam-packed. Amanda just barely managed to squeeze in between Simone and another human woman with tattooed lips. She smiled at Amanda. Amanda smiled back, politely. 

The lift took them down to the fourth floor; a giant banquet hall and ball room. Amanda was enchanted by the amount of effort Starfleet had put in—everything was golden and shining, like the future had come to great them. 

She wondered, at times, what it would have been like if she’d enrolled in Starfleet. To be at events like this one all the time, looking for the next best thing, exploring the galaxy. Wouldn’t that be something, to meet new lifeforms and discover their planets, one by one? 

But then, if she had enrolled in Starfleet, they would have made her come to the banquet in dress uniform, and she never would have gotten to dress up with her team. 

As they shuffled to their assigned seating, Amanda cast about a look for Sarek. She didn’t see him, or the other Vulcan delegates, anywhere near her table. She figured they were a little closer to the front, where there was a stage put up for the officials who’d be speaking later on in the night. Amanda and her team were much closer to the back. 

She cast about her mind for him. The link was still there, barely; a vague sense almost like a gut feeling. He was somewhere in the room. She could feel his apathy—maybe she was amazed by everything that was happening, but Sarek wasn’t impressed. She laughed a little to herself, thinking about it. 

Before too long, the banquet had begun. Servers flooded in, starting to drop meals off in the front of the room and making their way back. Admiral Veero took the stage. 

“Good evening, honored guests,” he began. 

He went through the motions. He thanked everyone for coming, gave a short spiel about Starfleet and their mission, and then bid them a good evening after thanking them all again. Several translators spoke with him, adding an odd echo to the air, so that when he left the stage the room felt silent, despite the clack of utilities on the china. 

A live band took the stage, and Veero stepped down, smiling and waving as he was greeted by thunderous applause. Amanda clapped gently, half-tempted to take her gloves off in order to eat. She didn’t, though, fearing she’d forget them. She smiled kindly at a server who re-filled her wine glass, nodding at him when he motioned for Lee’s. 

“That was less painful than I thought it would be,” Lamar said. 

“They had to cut back on the speech time,” Simone explained. “Translators cost an arm and a leg when it comes to this sort of stuff. A blessing for all of us, really.”

“If we were smart, we’d be up there doing the translating,” Lee said. 

“For what?” Amanda asked. “The money? Why would we need that?”

Lee shrugged. “I don’t know. A rainy day.”

Amanda laughed. “No, I think we’re good where we are.”

“If we get picked up by Starfleet, maybe,” Lee said. “Otherwise we might as well be money-grabbers.” 

Amanda let out a sigh. “Well,” she looked back up across the room to Admiral Veero, who was shaking hands with various guests. “That’s a good point.” She had to remain confident that they’d done a good job and garnered plenty of attention. 

She was certain they would be fine. Every waking minute, minus her meal times, she’d been talking her way up a corporate ladder, growing closer and closer to her goal. Or so she hoped. 

She spotted Commander Hoshi Sato and stood, waving. Hoshi had been making her rounds and stopped when she spotted Amanda, waving happily. A translator of remarkable prowess herself, Hoshi was one of their best shots. That aside, the woman was good company. 

“Doctor Grayson,” Hoshi approached her. Amanda made to stand but Hoshi said, “Oh, please, don’t get up—I’ll only be a minute. You look lovely, by the way.” She turned and smiled at Lee. “Doctor Zhao.”

“Commander Sato,” Lee grinned. 

“You look lovely, too,” Amanda said, even though like other Starfleet officials, Hoshi was in uniform. “Have you been enjoying your evening?”

“I have,” Hoshi said. She smiled. “And I believe you’re going to as well.”

Amanda looked at Lee. Lee shrugged. 

“I know I’m not supposed to say,” Hoshi said. She leaned in closer, lowering her voice. “But I could tell you were getting nervous. You didn’t hear it from me, but…” She trailed off, smile growing. 

“No way,” Lee whispered. 

Hoshi winked, charmingly. “Good luck wrangling Starfleet science officers.”

With that, she whisked herself away, off to her next group of friends. Amanda stared at Lee. 

“We did it,” she whispered. 

Simone said, “Did she just-“

“She did,” Lamar whispered. 

“We did it!” Lee said. She jumped in her chair, her hair pins trembling as she shook herself like an excited child. “Leapin’ lizards, ‘Manda! We did it! We did it!” Lee surged forwards, throwing her arms around Amanda. Amanda hugged her back as tightly as she dared, stunned. 

They talked at light speed the rest of dinner. They didn’t know the details, but what they’d been aiming for was a lab and some techs to help with it in one of the Starfleet facilities. They’d most likely be based in San Fransisco, where all the action was. They’d been planning it all out for years, but now that it was finally happening, Amanda felt like it was going impossibly fast. They’d all have to move. Or, at least, some of them would—not all of them would need to be there to physically oversee everything, but…

God, it was really happening. 

She’d never been an incredibly social person, or even a very emotional person—she preferred to spend her time with her computers and her books. How would she handle a lab full of strangers messing with her plans? Oh, who cared! She was finally getting what she’d always wanted. 

And when the translator was done, and deployed, she could still work on it. Adding new languages to it, finicking the design and model. It wasn’t like she even had to be there, in fact, she was pretty sure that if any of them moved it would be Lee—the social one. Lamar and Simone might want to be there to actually work on it, too, and some of their other off-again-on-again partners. But Amanda had always been the one cooking everything up in her apartment, alone, sending the information to the others over a secured server. 

“Let’s dance!” Lee declared as they finished. The ballroom floor was already starting to get crowded by people waltzing along to the band. 

Amanda smiled as Lee pulled her up out of her chair. “Oh, I don’t know.”

“Come on, Lamar and Simone are dancing.” She pointed to the two, who were arguing over who was supposed to lead. It appeared neither wanted to be in charge, for once. “Why don’t we?” 

Amanda smiled. Even as she said it, Lee’s eyes were tracking the movement of a young woman with long, beautiful dreadlocks. “Are you sure I’m the right partner for tonight, dear?” 

Lee licked her lips. “Well-“

“Go on,” Amanda said, pushing her friend. “You’ve been very good this conference, putting off romancing anyone in order to encourage me to attempt relations for once. You deserve a dance at the least.”

Slowly, Lee nodded to herself. “Yeah… Yeah, you’re right, I deserve it.” She bit her lip, turning back to Amanda. “But what about you?”

Amanda pointed. “Look, Lee. She looks lost. She doesn’t have anyone to dance with. You can’t just let her linger on the edge of the dance-floor, I know you.” Amanda laughed at Lee’s conflicted expression. “I’ll be just fine, thank you. Now go—begone with you.”

“Well, if you insist…” Lee grinned, reaching out to squeeze Amanda’s hand before she went. “Thanks, ‘Manda.” 

With that, she was gone. Amanda watched her fondly, laughing as Lee marched straight up to the woman and began talking animatedly. The woman looked startled at first, but she was laughing soon enough. Moments later, the two were dancing arm in arm, Lee looking absolutely smitten. 

“You are… happy.” 

Amanda turned, already aware of who it was. “Sarek,” she greeted the man. 

“Amanda,” he nodded. “I felt you become overcome with elation.”

“My project’s getting picked up,” she explained.

“That is fortunate,” he said. Amanda could tell he didn’t like the word; ‘fortunate’ implied a sort of chance. The Vulcan equivalent to ‘fortunate’ and ‘unfortunate’ had a more scientific connotation—the root implied that what happened, good or bad, was due simply to the circumstances leading up to that point, and thus, was inevitable. 

“It is,” she agreed, anyway. Just the once, she didn’t want to get into a discussion about linguistics. In fact, she sort of wanted to dance. She looked up at Sarek. “Do Vulcans dance?”

“Perhaps not in the way humans do,” he said. “Though the steps of a waltz are closer to what we would consider ‘dancing’ than most of your movements.” 

“So you know how to waltz then?”

“As would be expected of an Ambassador,” he said, simply.

She smiled. “As expected, hm? Well, Ambassador, are you expected to dance with anyone in particular?”

“Not tonight,” he allowed. 

“In that case, I believe I have a proposition for you.” 

He raised a brow. 

Silently, she held her hand out.

He took it, carefully, hand gentle and light even against the material of her glove. He lead her out onto the floor; a carefully programmed hologram, sweeping her gently into his arms. He began to move in time, mathematically, but without the stiffness she expected from someone like him. 

She smiled. “You’re very graceful.”

“Nearly as yourself,” he parried. 

“Flattery, Sarek? You really do make a good case for yourself.” 

“It is only logical,” he said, “To make use of all possible resources at my disposal when attempting a negotiation.”

“Is that what this is then?” She spun away from him, and then back into his arms, her curls bouncing against her shoulders. “A negotiation?”

“Certainly,” he said.

Amanda smirked. “You couldn’t have picked a less romantic way to put it.”

“I am not romantic,” he said. “I am Vulcan.” 

“And I am human,” she said. 

“As a human, do you require romance?” The tilt of his brow revealed that he already knew the answer. 

She laughed, softly. “Romance is a tad over-dramatic for me,” she admitted. “But if you think you’re un-romantic, Sarek, I have some rather startling news for you. You may want to sit down for this.”

“You are teasing me,” he said. 

“I am,” she affirmed. “Does it bother you?”

“No.” 

“Then I suppose I’m doing it right.” She leaned her head against his front, just barely. He was wearing beautiful navy robes—so dark a blue they were nearly black. “A negotiation, hm? I’ve put down many terms, Sarek, but you have yet to state your own.”

“I ask only that we are bonded,” he said. “What more could I possibly ask of you?”

She flushed despite herself. “Plenty of things. What sort of wife do you want?”

“There is no ‘sort,’ Amanda. Only you, and whatever wife you would be to me.” 

She knew, then, very suddenly, that she was in danger. At the rate they were going, she’d be in love with Sarek by sunrise, and she wasn’t sure if the thought scared or excited her. Maybe a bit of both? 

She’d never been in love before. 

“I suppose the right computer finally came along,” she muttered. She realized she’d spoken out loud and waited for Sarek to question her, but to her surprise, he didn’t. 

“I am not a computer,” he said, softly. “Though the comparison is generous.” 

She laughed, quietly. He was a good dancer, Sarek; though he never deviated from the steps. She liked that. It was good to go by the book, sometimes—that was why there was a book to begin with. 

“What are your plans, after this?” She asked. 

“After we conclude our dance?”

“After the conference,” she clarified. 

He paused only for a moment. “I will reside at the Vulcan Embassy in order to acclimate to, and learn about, Earth and Humans, for twenty three days. When the twenty three days have concluded I will fly to Starbase Seven for the Geros conference. The conference will last-“

“I don’t need your entire life’s schedule,” she mused. “Twenty-three days, on Earth, hm? Do you have to be at the Vulcan Embassy?”

“I do not,” he said. 

“Just on Earth?”

“That would be preferable, yes.” 

Boldness welled up in her like a tidal wave crashing upon an unsuspecting beach. She opened her mouth, uncertain as to what would come out, startled when she said, “Come with me to Canada.”

Sarek was just as startled as she was. “Canada?” He repeated. 

She swallowed. Once she’d said it, the idea wouldn’t leave her. “To meet my family,” she said. “I… I’ve been half-planning on taking a short trip to see them, if the translator took off, since I’d be so busy with it afterwards that I wouldn’t have time to see them in a good while. It’s been a couple of years since I was home, after all, and…” She trailed off. 

“And?”

“Come with me,” she finished. 

He stopped dancing very suddenly, nearly throwing the pair next to them out of motion. Amanda did not care- she stood there, still touching Sarek, and waited. He looked aside, thinking, for an entire five seconds. He turned and began to escort her out of the throng of dancer. 

“Sarek?” 

He guided her over to the edge of the room, where they were’t in danger of colliding into any dancers. He studied her hand, which remained in his, with an intense gaze. Finally, after a time, his eyes snapped back up to hers.

“I accept,” he said. 

She felt a small blip of excitment start in her chest. “Are you certain?” 

“I am,” he said. “When will we leave?”

“I…” She blinked. “We should be getting official news about the translator before noon, tomorrow. So, after one last lunch with the team, I suppose… I suppose the best time to leave would be then.” She nodded. “Thirteen hundred, sharp.” 

“What will the duration of the trip be?”

“I… I’m not sure,” she said. “Less than twenty-three days, of course.”

He inclined his head. “I will be prepared, then.”

Amanda nodded, woodenly. She could barely believe she’d asked him at all. When she felt for the link in her head, to see if he was just as baffled, she found it missing. It must have dissolved, finally. 

She realized she missed the connection. And wasn’t _that_ alarming. 

“You are dehydrated,” Sarek said. 

“What?” Amanda noticed his gaze, then—he must have noticed her blush and come to the wrong conclusion. Still, she was a little dizzy from the wine and dancing, so who was she to correct him. 

“You are dehydrated,” he repeated. “Come.”

She followed him to his table—just like she’d thought, he was seated up at the front. She sat down in the seat with his name tag at it. He sat down at _Suvok_ ’s. Sarek reached out and grabbed his glass of water, offering it to Amanda. 

“As we have already had mouth-to-mouth contact, there is no danger in drinking from a shared glass,” he said. “However, if the knowledge that you have already exchanged saliva with me should prove inefficient, I can recite my most recent health examination conclusion to you.” 

“Considerate, but unnecessary,” she mused. She took a long drink—she was thirsty, even if she hadn’t realized it until then. 

“What is Canada like?” Sarek asked. 

“Canada?” She snorted. “Cold.” 

He nodded, considering it.

“I’m from Hosmer. It’s a very small town. A sort of everyone-knows-everyone kind of place. I don’t have any really strong feelings about it, to be honest. It’s… quiet. Old-fashioned. Some people still drive cars instead of hovers—a lot of people, in fact. I’ve even seen a tractor there, believe it or not.”(2)

“You have no reason to lie,” he said. “I believe you.”

“Well good.” She put a hand on his arm. “You’ll have to see when we get there. My family are a… well, a loud bunch, but it shouldn’t be too bad. They usually leave me to my own devices, and they shouldn’t be too invasive when it comes to you. Though, if they are, don’t hesitate to tell them. They’re my family, so they’re rather tough when it comes to emotions—I don’t think we’ve had a single hurt feeling between the lot of us in years.” 

“That does not seem to be the emotional standard for humans,” he said. 

“Oh, it’s not. We’re hard-heads. Well, except for Sable. She’s a sweetheart, really, even if she’s tough as nails. The rest of us though… well, we seem exceedingly apathetic. Though I suppose that would be a welcome reprieve for you.”

“Indeed.” 

“Don’t be fooled, though. They’re loud, emotional humans, too. Louder and more emotional than me, that is. Louder and… well, louder than most.” She grimaced a little at her finish. “I can’t think of how else to describe them. You’ll really just have to wait and see, I suppose.” 

“And I will not be intruding?”

“No. No, of course not, I’m inviting you, aren’t I?” 

“I have noticed humans sometimes extend invitations they do not mean in order to be polite.” 

“Hm, we do, don’t we?” She delicately shrugged one of her shoulders. “Well, I’ve never understood that—it’s completely senseless. I mean it. I want you to come with me.” 

He looked her in the eye. “Why?” He asked, point-blank. 

“Why?” She blinked. “Well… I suppose… because I enjoy your company.”

He was silent for a moment. “Do you intend, then, to accept my proposal of marriage?”

“I…” She frowned. “I’m certainly giving it thought.”

He nodded. 

“My parents are going to lose their minds. My sisters, too.”

“Lose their minds?” He sounded very nearly alarmed. 

“Figure of speech; it means they will have a hard time accepting and understanding the circumstances and may behave bizarrely in response.” She paused. “Well, more bizarre than usual.”

He raised a brow. 

She said, “Yes, I know, I’m not making a very good case for them right now. But I want you to be prepared for what you’re walking into. It really wouldn’t do for a Vulcan to lose his mind, I bet.”

“That would be unseemly,” he agreed. 

She laughed.

It was then that Lamar appeared, looking rather haggard. “There you are,” he huffed. 

“Lamar? What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” 

She raised her brows. “Nothing?”

“Really, nothing, I promise. Can we go back to the room?”

“You don’t nee my permission,” she laughed. 

He winced. “Actually, I do. Simone removed me from the system and I don’t want to get in trouble for hacking Starfleet security codes.”

Amanda resisted the urge to sigh. Those two were going to be the death of her. “Why did she remove you from the system?”

“Well we were talking about Klingons,” he said. He didn’t go on.

Whatever. “Alright.” Amanda turned to Sarek, smiling apologetically. “I suppose this is goodnight, then. I’ll… see you tomorrow?”

“You will.” He said. “I will meet you at your rooms at thirteen hundred.”

She nodded, stomach fluttering with butterflies. “Right. I… I’ll see you then.”

With that, she stood. She paused, then. 

“Sarek?”

“Yes?”

“What do Vulcans do to say goodbye?”

“We great each other in the same manner as we wish one another farewell, much like your word ‘Aloha.’ It is this,” he said, and held his hand up in a simple configuration, almost like a V. “The ta’al.”

She copied the action. “Ta’al,” she said. 

“Dif-tor heh smusma,” he said. 

She blinked. “Live long and prosper?”

He inclined his head and dropped his hand. 

“Amanda,” Lamar said. “We going?”

“Of course,” she said. She turned away from Sarek, throwing a cordial, “Dif-tor heh smusma,” over her shoulder as she went. 

They made it back to the room without hitch, the only ones there. Simone would be along at some point, but there was no telling with Lee, now that she’d found someone to romance. 

Amanda laid back in her bed, pulling off her heals as she let out a tired sigh.

Her communicator rumbled.

She picked it up, curious, and then smiled when she saw that it was a message from Sarek. 

_Amanda Grayson_ , it read. _It would honor me to have you as my bondmate. Will you marry me?_

She licked her lips and typed out a short reply.

_Sarek, my dear. Ask me again tomorrow._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (1)Changed the names of Amanda's siblings up after finding out that Amanda canonically has a sister named Doris.  
> (2) I can't find where Amanda's family is from, though I noticed she was born in Washington? How did I never see that? Anyway, I know nothing about Hosmer, as I've never been to Canada... I just wanted to pick a random small town, and this is where my pin fell on the map. So, those of you who know anything about Hosmer, prepare for the fact that the writer is treating the town as a work of fiction.
> 
> If you like my work, consider checking out my original content [here](https://books2read.com/u/3R1aRn)!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is NOT edited, but I FINALLY finished writing it after a grueling month or so of strain, so I'm posting it before I get cold feet. I will come back and edit it at a later time.
> 
>  Here: [x](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olhR8GEieD4) is the song Amanda is singing. It's called Venus Ambassador, and it's by Bryan Scary and the Shredding Tears. 
> 
> I actually started writing this fic BECAUSE of this song. Every time I listened to it I couldn't stop thinking about Amanda/Sarek, so... this was born! As silly as it was to write it in, I couldn't get the scene out of my head.

The shuttle dropped them off at the last station on the way to Hosmer, which was still about two hours away by hover. It was a simple matter to rent a hover from the station, though Amanda was disappointed to find they didn’t have any self-driving, like she was used to. 

Oh well. 

Sarek loaded their luggage into the trunk and then slipped into the front seat. He looked especially alien in the faux leather interior of the hover, his hair cut in straighter lines than that those that made up the dashboard of the car. She laughed as he pulled his seatbelt over his shoulder.

He raised a brow at her. 

“Nothing,” she said, a small smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. “Just… you’re very Vulcan, I suppose.”

“I do not understand how one can be ‘very’ Vulcan. They either are Vulcan, or they are not.”

“Like I said,” she teased, “very Vulcan.” 

The first half of the drive was spent in the lingering vestiges of daylight. They hadn’t talked much on the shuttle ride from San Fransisco, preferring to watch the scenery blur by, but as darkness began to descend there was nothing left to look at asides from the road. 

“Do you mind if I play some music?”

“I do not.”

The hover car had already connected to her account. “Play older than oldies,” she told the car. Music from the 1980s, 70s, and 90s was on that particular list, and none of it was entirely conventional. It was a playlist her sisters had both spun up, for the most part, but she’d added some of her favorite choices as well. It started off with some Bowie, which was Sable’s personal favorite, but there were bound to be more obscure things, thanks to Doris. 

“So,” Amanda said. “I told my parents I was bringing a guest with me, but they probably all think it’s going to be Lee.”

“Why would you not tell them exactly?”

“They over-react. They won’t be able to do that with you standing right there, it wouldn’t be polite.”

“Is it not dishonest to deceive them?”

“A white lie, at most,” she said. “Humans tell them all the time. Technically, yes, it’s a deception, but it’s a harmless one. I never said that I was bringing Lee, anyway; they didn’t even ask. They would be making the assumption themselves, with no evidence outside of prior circumstances.”

“I see,” Sarek said. 

“The worst I can see this resulting in is them having baked a spice cake or something. Lee loves spice cake, and my dad makes them really well. And that won’t be a problem at all.”

“It will not?”

“I’ll be perfectly happy to eat it myself.”

It was quiet for a time. 

“It’s weird not to feel you in my head,” Amanda said, suddenly. The silence hadn’t been awkward, but there was something about the cover of darkness that pulled the conversation out of her. “Even though we were only connected for a little while. Isn’t that odd?”

“It is not.” Sarek said. He stared straight ahead. “For a Vulcan, it is natural to share one’s mind with another. To be alone within one’s head is… truly a thing of pain.” 

Amanda furrowed her brow. “You’re hurting?” For her, it had just been weird not to have anywhere to send her sudden flashes of thought and idea, after having a day to grow used to the constant connection. To think that it was actively hurting Sarek not to be hooked into her psyche was…. 

“I have grown used to it,” he assured her. “The momentary reprieve was… appreciated.”

She thought for a moment. “When we get home…” She sighed. “When we get to my parent’s house, if you want, you can link us together again. Think of it as a trail run. I certainly wouldn’t want to be bonded to someone who I wasn’t mentally compatible with. I doubt you would, either.”

“You… wish to meld again?”

“If it will make you more comfortable, then yes. I don’t see why not.”

“I was made to believe that humans appreciated privacy of thought very highly.”

“You’re a telepath,” she said, easily. “I know that no two minds are alike, but thoughts must be similar. I doubt there’s anything you could find in my head that would shock you. Thoughts make up who you are. I don’t see why I wouldn’t want to share mine, then.” 

He didn’t respond.

“Have I offended you?” She asked. “I don’t know much about telepathy, so if I’ve said something out of line—“

“Not at all,” Sarek said. “I am simply… surprised.”

“Is that a good thing or a bad thing?”

“It simply is,” he said. “You are very unique.”

She smiled to herself. “Well, you’re not so run of the mill yourself.”

They continued on in the dark for a while. Amanda turned the music up to stay awake, sensing that she and Sarek were both tired—she from a lack of sleep, and him from the loudness and bumble of so many humans over the past few days. 

When she heard a familiar twang of notes, she reached out to skip the song. She’d skipped plenty, thinking them too weird for Sarek, or simply because she didn’t like them. This one fell in line with the other ‘weird,’ songs, but she paused just before ordering it to be skipped over.

She pulled her hand back, barely suppressing a grin. 

“Stranded,” she said, “At the station. On his way to. The United Nations.”

Sarek looked over at her, curious. She had yet to sing along to any of the songs.

“Buoyancy depleting—would he make it to the meeting?” She sang quietly; Lee would have belted the lines out in excitement, but Amanda was aware of the ambassador’s sensitive hearing. “Outside, in the night sky, but the red light, of the do or die sign. A fluttering of blue. Unit seven… made their move—“

“What are you doing?”

“Caught him in the grove.”

“Amanda.”

“Signed the papers; no escaping—from the mess you’re making.” She laughed a little in the bridge. “Oh, _Vulcan_ Ambassador’s alright, the Vulcan Ambassador’s alright.” 

“The word is Venus,” he said. 

She laughed again. She didn’t know the whole song—just the first verse and the chorus. “I’m singing for you, Sarek. One might think you were ungrateful.”

“I did not realize I should be grateful for this,” he said, point-blank.

“Oh, I’m sure you should be,” she replied, just in time for the chorus again. “Vulcan Ambassador,” she sang at him. She laughed again at his blank look. “Oh, come on. I think it’s charming this way, don’t you?” 

“You are not singing the correct lyrics.”

“It’s an old song,” she said. “Maybe they had to change it to Venus so as not to break the prime directive.”

“That is severely doubtful, as no Vulcan Ambassador was sent to Terra until—“

“Here comes the best part,” she said. “The judge says, he’s a meanice, this ambassador from Venues-“

“Venus,” Sarek corrected, automatically.

“Vulcan! Says the hero. In a language, made of ones and zeros—“

“We do not speak binary on Vulcan.” 

She laughed. “You might as well be the character in the song. ‘It’s the trail of the year, and he hasn’t a tear to waste.’”

“It is true that, were I on trail, I would not waste my time attempting to become emotional in order to cultivate public appeal. My time would better be spent composing a legal case in my favor.”

“Vulcan Ambassador’s alright,” she echoed. 

He just raised a brow at her. 

She turned the volume back down, laughing to herself quietly. “How do you feel about Terran music, hmm?”

“I am in favor of Beethoven.”

“What about Bryan Scary?”

“Who is Bryan Scary?”

“The artist of ‘Venus Ambassador,’ of course.”

Sarek said, “He might consider studying the classics.”

Amanda laughed again. She turned onto the dirt road that would eventually deposit them at her parent’s house. “It’s not for everyone,” she agreed. “I very rarely listen to this sort of music anymore, but I suppose you could say I’m feeling… nostalgic. Do Vulcans get nostalgic?”

“Not as such,” he said. 

“I supposed that saves them from singing silly, illogical songs.”

“It does.”

“What happens should I become nostalgic when I am your wife, Sarek?”

“When?” He asked.

She froze. “…If,” she amended, slowly.

“I would only hope that you would refrain from singing in the company of others, should the song be ‘silly,’ as you described it. It would not do well for others to think you mad.”

“Dear Sarek, many already think me mad. In fact, many think _you_ mad, for proposing to me on the spot.”

“And they think you mad for thinking such a proposal over?”

“Oh, they thought me mad long before that, I’m sure.”

“What for?”

“I’ve been accused for being heartless just as often as I’ve been accused for being too empathetic.” She said. “I think people will find any reason at all to call you crazy if they want to. All you have to do is be different than they are.”

He nodded his head, considering. “Yes,” he said. “That does seem to be the case.”

“It doesn’t matter,” she said. “All that maters, I think, is what the people you care about think of you.”

“And what do the people you care about think?”

“I wouldn’t pretend to know.” She laughed. “But I like to believe that they think I’m the good kind of crazy.”

“There is a good kind?”

“You should know,” she said. “You fall into that category.”

His mouth flattened into a thin line.

“That’s a good thing,” she assured him. “I don’t think I’d get along with anyone who wasn’t at least a little odd.”

“I am not crazy,” he said. “I am perfectly sane.”

“Metaphor, my dear.” She said. 

“Ah.”

They were there, then. It was already late, and if Doris was there, they would likely have just finished up with dinner. If not, her parents and Sable would have finished dinner _and_ the dishes. 

Amanda took in a deep breath as she put the car into park. “Okay,” she said. 

“This is your parent’s home?” Sarek asked. He looked out the window, curious.

“Yeah, this is it.”

“You are… anxious.” He noted.

“A little nervous is all.” She said. “I’m just anticipating how they’ll react.”

“To me.” 

“To you,” she admitted. “And my news. I think they were secretly hoping that I’d stretch my legs in San Fransisco, grow tired of it all, and come back home. Now that I’ve gotten the grant, well, they’ll realize I meant it when I said I wasn’t made for Hosmer.”

“You fear they will keep you here?”

“No, no! No, nothing like that. I just…” she sagged back into her seat. “I want them to be proud of me. Even now, that I’m on my own, you know? I just don’t wan them to be disappointed.”

“Family pride is an understandable concept,” Sarek said. 

Amanda let out a small laugh. “I’m glad I’m not alone in this, then.” 

He inclined his head. 

It hit her, then; how crazy this whole thing was. She had a Vulcan in her car. She wanted a Vulcan to spend the week with her, in Canada, with her crazy family. Not just a Vulcan—the Vulcan Ambassador himself. That was like having the president over for a sleepover, or something. 

Well, she’d orchestrated the whole thing, after all. There was no reason to panic, or to linger in the hovercar any longer. “Alright. Let’s go.”

Sarek nodded and pulled his glove back on, wrapping his scarf around his neck. Amanda exited the car and moved around the back of the hover to pop the trunk open, pulling out her bags. 

“Allow me,” Sarek said. 

She handed her things over. She’d need her arms to survive the hugs of her family, anyway, and Sarek had already informed her of the superior strength Vulcans possessed. “Thank you.”

They walked through the few inches of snow and up to the door. Amanda knocked, nervously, and they turned to look up at Sarek. She laughed. Even in the meager porch-light, she could very clearly see how green his nose had turned. His cheeks were flushed, too, and the tips of his ears stood out like emeralds against the backdrop of his pitch black hair. 

He raised his brow.

Amanda opened her mouth to explain just as the door swung open.

“Amanda!” Her parents chorussed. 

“Mom, Dad.” She smiled wide ands stepped inside, ushering Sarek in after her. “Oh, it’s so good to see you both again!” She hugged her dad, first, as he was closest, and then was passed off to her mother. 

“And who is this?” Her farther asked. 

Sarek was in the process of removing his shoes, having put the bags down on the ground next to him. He stopped, one socked foot next to one booted foot. “I am Ambassador Sarek, of the planet Vulcan,” he said. 

They stared. 

“Mom, Dad,” Amanda stepped around them and back to Sarek’s side. “This is Sarek. He’s… a friend.” She smiled. “He’ll be staying the week with us.”

“Oh,” said Dad. 

“We… thought you meant Lee,” Her mother added. 

“Sarek,” Amanda continued. “These are my parents—Felicia Grayson and Caden Grayson.” 

Her father snapped out of his stupor and offered out his hand. “It’s good to meet you.”

Sarek stared at the hand. 

Amanda reached out and shook it for him. 

“You as well,” Sarek said. 

Her parents stared at Amanda as though she’d grown a second head. 

“So!” She clapped her hands together. “Where are the girls?” 

“Oh, Doris won’t be here until tomorrow morning.” Felicia said. 

“And Sable?” Amanda asked.

“She’s staying with Doris tonight,” Caden answered. “They had a girls’ night. Went into town to see a movie and everything.”

“Without me?” Amanda laughed. “Well, that’s just inconsiderate.”

They continued to stare at Sarek. 

Amanda shook her head and reached down to grab a bag. Sarek beat her to the punch.

“Let me show you to your rooms,” Felicia hurried. She started towards the stairs, on the right of the entry way. “You’ll have to forgive me, dear, I thought that it was Lee coming, so I didn’t make up the guest room yet…”

“That’s fine, Sarek can have my room. I’ll sleep in Sable’s bed.”

“Right,” Felicia cleared her throat. “Ah, here we are.”

Amanda’s room was a little different than when she’d last seen it. Someone had moved an old dresser into the corner, and her old vanity and dresser had been removed. There was a table piled with cloth and a sewing machine where it had used to be. 

The bed was the same queen and quilt that she remembered, though, and the light blue paint was just the same. Her rug was even still in place. She was glad of that—doubtlessly, Sarek would have found the hardwood floor uncomfortably cold. 

“This is my room, Sarek,” Amanda said. She stepped inside. “You can set our things here.”

He did, looking around in interest. “I do not wish to inconvenience you, Amanda.”

“It’s no problem at all,” Amanda assured him. “I’m used to sharing. Doris and I shared a room until her last year of high school.”  
“I see.” He said. 

“So sleeping in Sable’s room until I can clean the sheets in the guest room is not a big deal at all, I promise.” She put a hand on his arm. “I wanted to stay up and talk to my parents for a little while, anyway.”

“I understand. I will ‘leave you to it,’ as you say. I must set up my communicator in the meantime.”

She nodded and pulled her hand away from his arm. “Mom,” she said, and turned towards Felicia. “Could you turn the heater on?” 

“Oh, um, of course.” Her mother crossed the room to fiddle with the controls.

“I’ll come back up when I’m done, if you don’t mind,” Amanda said quietly. Sarek nodded. “Good. You can link us up and send me live updates if it’s too cold for you in here.”

“I am sure that I am perfectly able to understand a basic heating unit.” Sarek said.

“This one is finicky, so I’ll be impressed if you can bully it into submission.”

“Bully… it?”

She winked. “Humanism. I think that we believe anything is possible through emotionalism. If you’re mean enough to an inanimate object, it has to do what you want, doesn’t it?”

He just stared at her, bewildered. 

“I’ll let you think that one over,” she said. “I’ll be downstairs if you need anything.”

“Understood.”

Amanda left him, then, and collected her mother along the way. Felicia had to be pulled along, as she was still staring back at Sarek, but Amanda didn’t hold it against her. It wasn’t every day you saw a Vulcan—especially in the middle of nowhere, Canada. 

“Amanda, dear—“

“Mother, dearest, I can assure you that he’s a lovely man and you don’t have to worry at all.” Amanda laughed at her mother’s frown. “I can still read your face, Mom; that will never change.”

“I do worry that the heater won’t behave… he won’t be too cold, will he?”

“Sarek’s not shy. He’ll let me know if there’s something not in working order.” 

They descended the stairs and found Caden waiting for them at the landing.

“A Vulcan,” he declared, shaking his head. 

“Good to see you too, Dad.” She stepped down and hugged him again. 

“Where on Earth did you pick him up?” Caden asked.

Amanda drew back and started towards the kitchen. “At the conference, actually. We’ve become good friends. He’s been helping me with the Vulcan translations, and I’ve been giving him the run-down on human expression.”

“You just met him?” Felicia asked.

“We’ve had time to get to know each other.” She opened the fridge and bent down, in search of the cider. They always made a fresh batch about this time. It was at the back of the fridge, so she parted the food to grab it. “There’s still so much we can learn from each other, you know, so I felt that it would be appropriate to bring him down here with me.”

“What was his name again?” Felicia asked.

“Sarek.”

Felicia nodded, looking off into the distance. “His face is just…”

“I’m sure if you ask him very nicely, he’ll pose for a painting.” Amanda laughed.

Felicia blushed. “Yes, well, you know. Cheekbones like that are rare.”

“Don’t you go getting too sweet on him,” Amanda said. “He proposed to a woman at the conference at least three times—I think he might be a little taken with her.” Never mind that _she_ was that woman; her parents didn’t need to know that, yet.

“Oh, of course,” Felicia laughed. 

Amanda poured some cider into a pot and set it on the stove to warm. She moved around her parents and to the cupboard. “Do you guys want cider?”

“Yeah, the black mug on the counter is mine,” Caden said.

“I’ve had enough, thank you,” Felicia said. 

Amanda had to root around to find her mug, as it was hiding in the back of the cupboard. She pulled it out, grinning. It was a powder-blue mug with a chip in the rim; nothing special, but it had been her favorite since high school. Somehow it had avoided breaking completely, through all the years. 

She leaned against the counter, keeping her eye on the cider in the pot as her parents sat at the table. She noticed that, “That’s a new table, isn’t it?”

Caden grinned. “Traded this beauty for that antique lamp that was in the guest room.” 

“Aw, I liked that lamp.”

“This is _carved oak_ , Amanda.”

"Oh, please do forgive me father," she drawled, teasingly. "I hadn't realized."

The cider had begun to steam, by then, so she took it off the heat and poured a mug for her father and her. She brought both back over to the table and sunk into a chair, sighing. 

“It’s good to see you again,” Felicia said, smiling. She rested her hand over the back of Amanda’s. 

“It’s good to see you too,” Amanda leaned into her mother’s side, eyes closed. She yawned. “I didn’t think I was tired until I sat down; the trip here always takes it out of me.”

“Don’t I know it. You get that from me,” Caden said.

“So what’s the plan for while you’re here?” Felicia asked.

“I’ll go to synagogue with you both on Friday. Sarek might even want to come, I’ll have to ask. He wants to be exposed to more of human culture. Otherwise, I don’t really have all that much planned…” She trailed off, biting her lip to hold back her grin.

“And what about your translation work?” Caden asked. “Did you… did you get the grant?”

Amanda couldn’t contain her grin, then. “I did.”

“That’s wonderful news!” Caden cried. 

“Amanda, dear, we’re so proud of you! When did you find out?” Her mother asked.

“Just last night. We’ll have our own office at Starfleet HQ in just under a month. Lee and Simone are going to be heading it, I think, and I’ll keep doing my translation work like I have been. I think. We haven’t really worked all the details out, yet, and there’s a lot subject to change. But I’m… I’m really excited. Twenty years from now, everyone might be outfitted with a universal translator, and that will simply be a way of life.”

“That’s amazing, honey,” Caden laughed. “Did you bring the prototype with?”

“No, Lamar’s working on fine-tuning right now. We need to get the full model finished before the month is out so we can start developing smaller ones. Eventually the goal is to have them become implants, so that you just always have one.”

“That’ll be the day,” Felicia laughed. “Your Sarek; he speaks fluent Standard, doesn’t he? I wasn't sure what all he would understand when we were speaking to him...”

Amanda just shook her head. “Of course he speaks perfect Standard. He speaks several dialects of Vulcan, as well, so he’s been monumental in my translation efforts. He’s even been kind enough to correct some of my old work.”

“Kind enough, huh?” Caden laughed. “I remember correcting you when you were younger…”

“Well we all grow into ourselves when the time comes, do we not?” She grinned. “Besides, Dad, you know you should never correct someone’s sense of fashion. I still maintain that a magenta pantsuit would have been lovely.” 

“Yes, well, your bat mitzvah was unique enough without a magenta pantsuit,” her mother said, amicably.“ _Lovely_ as it may have been.”

Amanda laughed again. “Better than Sable,” she started.

Her father groaned. “Don’t remind me.”

“It wasn’t that bad,” Felicia argued.

“She entertained delusions of wearing a feather boa.” Amanda said, fondly. “It was pretty bad.”

“ _Entertained delusions_ ,” Caden laughed. “Methinks you may be spending too much time with the ambassador types.”

“ _Ja_ \--I’m a linguist,” Amanda argued, “I believe I owe it to myself to use as many opulent and superfluous words as I can work into conversation, don’t you?”

“Your magenta pantsuit is showing,” Felicia laughed.

“Now that just sounds like some sort of unfortunate innuendo.” Caden said.

“Dad!” Amanda laughed. 

“What? It does!” 

Felicia sighed good-naturedly.

“Enough about all that.” Caden said. “You still haven’t told us anything about the conference. Was it good? And how is Lee; did she enjoy it? You said you were looking forward to meeting Miss Hoshi Sato—did you end up seeing her?”

“I did meet her!” Amanda said. “She’s the one who gave me the good news, actually. Remarkable woman, I only wish we could have spent more time together. And Lee had a ball; she even ended up indulging a romantic liaison.”

Caden laughed. 

“But what about you, dear?” Felicia asked. “Did you have a good time?”

“Oh it was spectacular. I’m glad it’s over with, in all honesty; it was just so exhausting, but it was worth it. I’ve never seen so many gifted minds in one place before. There was this young woman there, uh, Winona something, and she was doing a presentation on warp that really just opened my eyes to space travel.”

“Space travel?” Felicia asked.

“Oh yes. You know I’ve always thought of myself as a dirt-side woman, but now I’m not so sure. I could see myself out there, on a ship, drifting through space… it’s much safer than you would think.”

“That’s certainly… interesting,” Felicia allowed. 

Amanda just laughed.

“Well it sounds like you had a blast,” Caden said. He stood with a low groan. “You’ll have to tell us more about it over breakfast.”

“You’re going to bed already?” Amanda asked.

“We stayed up late for you, missy.” Caden said.

Felicia stood too. “Strict nine PM bedtime for these two old birds.”

“Oh boo, on both of you,” Amanda laughed. Still, she stood, swallowing the last bits of her cider before placing her mug in the sink. 

“Holler if you need anything, dear,” Felicia said. 

“Alright, I will.” She filled her mug with water and then grabbed a glass from the cupboard, filling it as well. “Goodnight!”

When they were gone, she took her mug and glass upstairs to her old room.

“May I come in?” She called, quietly. She couldn’t knock with her hands full. 

“Enter,” came Sarek’s response.

Amanda slipped into the room, closing the door behind her. Already the heater was up full blast, and the room had become dry and hot because of it. Sarek had removed his coat and socks, but the layers of robes continued to weigh his shoulders down and, hopefully, warm him.

Amanda padded over to her desk, where Sarek had set up with a computer and several pads. He was working on something for the council; always working, she noticed. That was good—he wasn’t going to be able to complain about her being a workaholic if he was the same way.

“Have you set everything up?” She asked.

He nodded. “Yes. Your web connection is poor, but workable.”

“Welcome to Hosmer,” she joked.

“You have already welcomed me,” he said.

She smiled. “Yes, but now you understand what it must have been like for me to live here, even if just barely. That’s another welcome all on its own.”

“I see,” he said.

Amanda sat on the edge of her old bed. “Warm enough for you in here?”

“Yes.”

“Good. If you get cold in the night, come find me and I’ll locate some more blankets for you. This is a really good quilt, but I’m human—I have no idea if it will be enough for you.”

“I am confident that it will be sufficient,” he said. 

“Sufficient,” she mused. “I’m aiming for comfortable. “

He merely looked at her.

“Have you finished your work for the night?”

“My work is never finished,” he assured her. Regardless, he closed his computer and stood, hands behind his back. “However if there is something you need of me, I would be amenable to attending.”

“Let’s meld,” she said, simply.

He stared at her.

“I like the feeling of you in my head,” she explained. “Wouldn’t that be nice? If you get cold, you can just grab my attention mentally. I think it’s rather logical. After all, the floors creak, and you wouldn’t want to wake my parents, would you?”

“That would be considered rude,” he allowed.

“And as an Ambassador, I’m certain you must never be rude.”

He raised a brow. “Even an Ambassador may find it necessary to be rude, on occasion.” Still, he sat gently beside her on the bed. He looked out of place, in his expensive robes, sitting on her old quilt. She liked it.

Amanda curled her legs underneath her and turned so that she was facing Sarek’s shoulder. “What pet names would you call me, if I were your wife?” She wondered out-loud.

“Pet-names?”

“Honey, darling, dearest, beloved,” she listed. “The options are endless.”

“Why would I refer to you as anything other than your name?”

“It’s endearing Sarek. Surely you see the logic in that.”

“On the contrary. Your name is sufficiently endearing to me.”

Never mind that he’d said _sufficiently_. The odd compliment still managed to make her smile. She felt that she had Sarek figured out, and the amends he made for her were frankly astounding. “What if I wanted to give you a pet name?”

“I would ask only that you were to make me suffer it in the privacy of our home.”

She laughed. “You don’t want your Vulcan peers to know I call you ‘baby?’”

“I would similarly ask,” he said, cooly, “That you did not compare me to an infant.”

“That seems a reasonable enough request.” In a moment of boldness, she slipped her fingers over the back of his—a brief kiss, before she returned her hand to her lap. “Ashayam,” she teased.

He turned to her, eyes unreadable. 

She shifted, waiting for his reaction. Had she pushed him too far?

“I would meld with you, now. If you are amenable.”

Well, if that wasn’t a glowing approval, she didn’t know what was. She smiled slightly and allowed her eyes to slide shut, leaning forward face-first. 

His fingers brushed her face. 

It was as easy as falling asleep. There were flashes of half-formed thought, and that same mess of color and sensation. She saw the tilt of an alien sky and a far-off planet in a sky with no moon. She saw a beautiful woman with long, dark hair, and striking black eyes, robes whipping in the wind. She was cold—more so than Sarek himself, and though her mouth moved, no words formed. She turned and left him, and there was a feeling like relief, which was closely chased by emptiness. There was a huge, beautiful council room and elder Vulcans lined up on mock-thrones, and windows that rendered the red Vulcan sun into dis-jointed rainbows.

And there was Amanda herself. A flushed, sweating woman, impassive as she adjusted the scarf covering her head. A cool tone, and calculating eyes—were they really so blue, to him? A few choice words, and an alien elegance, more pronounced and artful in a short, winded human than in any Vulcan he’d ever encountered.

Amanda’s eyes opened as Sarek leaned away from her. “It is done,” he said. 

_Hello there, stranger,_ she thought, quietly. She couldn’t erase the version of herself she’d seen in his head. Did he really think that highly of her? 

_I would remind you that I am not a stranger to you, though we have been over this previously,_ Sarek thought back. 

She laid down on the bed. Her exhaustion had crept up on her, but after the meld, she found it had taken her over. She looked up at Sarek from under the shadow of her headscarf, admiring the strict line of his jaw. Tiredly, she thought, _I could fall for you, you know._

_I am counting on it._

She smiled, sleepily.

Out loud, Sarek said, “I believe it might be considered inappropriate for us to share sleeping quarters at this time.”

“Why Ambassador, are you accusing me of being a woman of forward character?”

“I made no such accusation.”

She smiled at his tone. “Here’s an expression for you; ‘if the shoe fits…’”

“Appropriate, if not uncouth.” Sarek admitted.

She chuckled, quietly. Slowly, she pushed herself up, until she was sitting, and then slowly leaned her head onto Sarek’s shoulder. “Is this alright?” She asked.

“Yes,” he said. He held out his fingers.

She kissed him in the Vulcan way and let out a small sigh. She hadn’t planned on being so forward with him, or on things developing so fast. What she’d thought was true; she just might fall for him. If she wasn’t careful, she might fall hard, and fast. 

Maybe she was already.

“I should go,” Amanda said. She didn’t want to.

“You should,” said Sarek. He didn’t move.

It was a test of wills; her logic or her lust. Though she considered herself a woman who formed actions based on the information she gleaned from her emotions, she knew where the line was. Emotions stopped being helpful at one point, and became base instinct.

Not that it would logically upset anyone if she were to stay.

Still, she stood, slowly.

“I will escort you to the door,” Sarek said. Ever the gentleman.

They walked the few paced to the door and then stopped there. Amanda fixed her headscarf to give her hands something to do.

Sarek said, “Goodnight, Amanda.”

She looked up at him. “No proposal tonight?”

“If I were to ask for your hand, would you give it to me?”

“Perhaps,” she said. She smiled. 

“I will ask again when I am certain that your answer will be yes.”

She nodded. “Very logical, Ambassador.” She put her hand on the doorknob, cracking the door open just enough to allow a sliver of light from the hall to paint the floor. She leaned towards Sarek, allowing her eyes to flutter shut, and hoped the link would edge Sarek the rest of the way.

It did. His hand graced the curve of her jaw, and he kissed her lips, chastely. He drew away after a small moment, and said, “You will allow the warmth of the room to escape if you continue to stand with the door open.”

“Then I suppose I had better leave.” She said. She stepped out into the hall. “Goodnight, Sarek,” she said, and gently closed the door.

She stepped down the hall and fell into Sable’s bed, face just barely flushed. She had no idea what she was going to tell her family, because she was certain she wasn’t going to be able to conceal her regard for Sarek, if he didn’t immediately make his intentions towards her clear to them. 

Well, that was a problem for the coming morning.

After a time, she fell asleep. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you like my work, consider checking out my original content [here](https://books2read.com/u/3R1aRn)!


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry it's taken me so long to post this, I lost inspiration for a while. I WILL be finishing this fic. We're getting close to the end now. Thank you so much to the people who revived this work with your reviews; you make the effort worth it!!!

or followed me [here](https://www.facebook.com/kandersonbooks/)!

 

Amanda woke up to her door creaking open. Not Sable’s door, she realized; _her_ door. It took her a moment to realize that she wasn’t awake, but was in fact, getting feedback from Sarek, who had cracked his eyes open the second the door handle had moved.

It was odd to see things from his perspective. The colors were duller, the images sharper. Sarek had drawn the curtains in her room firmly closed, plunging the room into darkness, but he saw through it with ease. He could hear thing she’d never noticed before—the drift of snow outside, the rattle of the heating element, the way one intruder breathed in through their nose, and the other through their mouth. 

_Oh dear,_ she realized. _Those would be my sisters._

That was all the warning she was able to give him before both Doris and Sable were screaming “Amanda!” And throwing themselves bodily onto the bed. Amanda winced, feeling Sable’s elbow connect with Sarek’s gut while Doris’s chin slammed into his shoulder. 

There was a wave of alarm from Sarek that made Amanda laugh. Unfortunately, that meant she woke herself up.

She snapped up in bed just as she heard Sable scream. It was followed by, “You’re not Amanda!” 

She shook her head, feeling Sarek’s displeasure at the screaming so near his delicate ears. She hurried out of bed and into the room over, where her sisters had backed against the wall to stare at Sarek.

“That’s what you both get for trying to jump me,” Amanda said from the doorway. 

They gasped.

“Amanda!” Sable was the first to connect with her; a collection of messy limbs and over-eager smiles. “Amanda, you’re here!” 

Doris was on her second, wrapping herself around both Sable and Amanda. “You should have come directly to my place, you dummy. We were having a girls’ night.”

“So I hear,” Amanda laughed.

They drew back. 

“Who is that?” Sable pointed at Sarek, who was at least sitting up, looking dignified despite the slight wrinkle to his sleeping clothes. 

Said sleeping clothes had a plunging V neck and offered a very tempting view of Vulcan physique, Amanda noted absentmindedly. Of course, Sarek caught the thought and raised his brow at her. 

She just smirked. 

“My dear sisters, may I introduce my friend Sarek, of the house of Surak; the Vulcan Ambassador to Earth.” 

“Terra,” Sarek said, “is the official term.” 

She’d wondered how long it would take for him to be unable to help but correct her on that one. She grinned. 

“The… what?” Sable inched behind Amanda, shyness setting in.

“A Vulcan?” Doris asked. She peered at him in interest. 

“It’s very rude to stare,” Amanda said, and grabbed Doris’s chin to turn the woman’s gaze away. “Come on, come on. We can go down to the living room—give Sarek a little privacy. Why didn’t mom and dad warn you two, anyway?”

“They’re still asleep,” Sable said.

“Asleep? What time is it?”

Doris gave her a sheepish grin. “Five thirty.”

Amanda sighed. Doris had always been the type of freak to rise with the sun. She must have caffeinated Sable heavily to get her to agree with the whole thing. 

“You’re impossible,” Amanda sighed. “Come on. Sorry about that, Sarek.”

He just nodded. 

She closed the door behind her, hurrying down the cold wood of the stairs to retreat to the living room. Doris had come through and left a drink carrier full of StarCups on the coffee table. 

Amanda curled up on the couch, pulling the blanket from the back of it to wrap around her shoulders like a shawl. “Do you have a hairband, Doris?”

“Here,” Sable pulled one off of her wrist and passed it over.

Amanda began to pull her hair up. “Thank you.”

“Triple shot caramel latte, no whip cream,” Doris said. She passed a cup over.

Amanda curled her cold hands around it, sighing sleepily. “You know, I don’t think I’ve had one of these since I left home.” 

“And here I thought you’d be praising me for remembering what you liked.”

Amanda laughed. “Thank you, Doris, it was very thoughtful.” She took a sip and tried not to wince. It was _much_ stronger than she remembered. Oh well; that was probably just what she needed to wake up at five in the morning. 

“So, um, Amanda,” Sable said. She shifted awkwardly in the armchair she’d taken up. “Who… was that?”

“Like I said,” Amanda shrugged. “He’s Sarek of Vulcan. A friend of mine. We met at the conference.”

“And you brought him here with you?” Doris’s brows climbed into her hairline. “You knew Lee for _three years_ before you finally brought her along with you.”

“I was looking forward to seeing her again, too,” Sable pouted.

Amanda said, “You can always call her, you know.”

“It’s not the same.”

“That aside, what’s the story? You’re infamously bad at making friends.”

“I resent that,” Amanda said, calmly. 

“You cut their self esteem to ribbons in five seconds if they’re not kids,” Doris said. “He’s not secretly a toddler, is he?”

“What a tall infant he would be,” Amanda drawled.

“See? That right there.” 

“For your information, I have plenty of friends.”

“Your team doesn’t count.”

“I have friends who aren’t on my team.”

Doris gave her a look. “Name one.”

Amanda paused. “… Martha,” she said, finally. 

“Who’s that?”

“She’s the woman at the library who always orders my books for me. We’ve become quite close.”

Doris snorted. “I think my point has been proven.”

Sable said, “It makes sense that she’d be friends with a Vulcan, Dory. And not in a mean way. She may be blunt, but she’s got tact. And she’s smart!”

“Thank you, Sable,” Amanda said, happily. “I’ve been told I have the makings of an Ambassador myself.”

“Because you can mince words down to the atoms,” Doris said.

“That makes no sense,” Amanda said. She became aware that Sarek was near and turned her head around to where he was about to pass by the archway to the living room. “The kettle should be on the stove, if you want to start hot water.”

“Would you care for some tea as well?” He asked, pausing in the doorway. He’d changed out of his sleepwear. 

She raised her cup of coffee. “Thank you, Sarek, but I’ve got this to deal with.”

He nodded and continued towards the kitchen. He didn’t need to her point out where it was, or ask how to use to the stove. She sent him quick blueprints for the house, an image of the kitchen’s layout, and the quick guide to using their antique stove. 

She turned back to Sable and Doris, who were both regarding her with a rather curious look that was somehow identical from one face to the next. 

“What?” 

“So how’d you become friends?” Doris asked.

“He knows Vulcan. I needed a source for the translator.”

“And he just… talked to you out of the goodness of his heart?”

“He needed someone to teach him the intricacies of human communication.”

Doris actually laughed at that.

“What?”

“Remember that time you tried to ask Tracy Bonham out and you stuttered so badly that she asked if you thought you might be having a seizure? And then she brought you to the school nurse cuz you couldn’t tell her you were fine?”

Amanda glared. “I was thirteen.” Had she really been missing her family? What a fool she was. “And I don’t remember _you_ helping.”

“Sister code. If it’s funny, you’re just a bystander.”

Amanda lifted a brow at her. She knew it would piss Doris off—she’s always been mad that Amanda had inherited the one-eyebrow-lift gene, while she was stuck with raising both or neither. 

Doris frowned at her.

“It’s so good to have you home, Amanda,” Sable said. 

“It’s good to see _you_ , Sable,” Amanda said. She stood and started towards the kitchen. “Come on. Mom and Dad will be up soon; the least we can do if get a head-start on making breakfast.”

“Always working,” Sable sighed. “We could just wait for mom and dad to wake up. They’ll make breakfast.”

“Clearly I’ve been away too long,” Amanda mused. She stood up. “Come on. I don’t know what food we have, so you’ll just have to help.”

Sable groaned as Doris snickered. 

They all made their way into the kitchen, were Sable imidiatly took a seat at the end of the table—as far away from Sarek as possible, as the Vulcan was standing at the stove, pouring himself a mug of tea. He’s washed the one Amanda had left by the sink, she noticed—her powder blue mug.

She’d forgotten to tell him where the cups were, then. Oh well; he’d figured it out.

“I see we share a similar sense of taste,” she said. She leaned against the counter next to him. There had been several dirty dishes to chose from. 

He looked at the box of tea. “This is yours?”

“The mug,” she said. She reached over and turned it so that the chipped side faced him. “I did that in college. I’ve dropped it a couple of times, but I was washing it and it slipped out of my hand. Caught the edge of the sink and chipped.”

He ran his finger over the imperfection. “Why would you keep a broken mug?”

“It still serves its purpose, does it not?” She picked up the tea and brought it to her lips, taking a small sip. They’d shared a water glass, after all.

“That is unsanitary.” Sarek took the mug from her and wiped the rim off with the clean towel he’d used to handle the hot kettle. 

She laughed a little, allowing him to take the mug back. “Forgive me,” she teased.

“So what are we making?” Doris asked. She had her head in the pantry. “Oatmeal?” 

“Turkey bacon,” Sable said. “I have the _worst_ craving for turkey bacon.”

“And I suppose we have eggs,” Amanda mused. She walked past Sarek and over to the fridge. “Doris, do we have any bread?”

“Yeah.” 

“I’ll make the toast,” Sable said. She stood and hurried to retrieve the bread and toaster before Doris could. 

“And I have the eggs.” Amanda said.

“Then you can be on bacon duty, too.” Doris said. “Last thing we need is two Graysons at the stove.”

Amanda grabbed the turkey and eggs from the fridge and started over to the stove, just beside Sarek. “And what will you be doing, sister dear?”

“Supervising,” she said.

“Dory, you should let Amanda go get dressed,” Sable said. “You make better eggs anyway.”

Amanda said, “Hmm, that’s a good point.”

“Damn you, Sable,” Doris said, but she took over for Amanda nonetheless. 

“I’ll be right back down,” Amanda said. “I’m just going to take a quick shower.” Privately, she sent Sarek as _you’ll be fine with them on your own, I hope?_

He met her eyes as she left the room. _As an ambassador, one would hope._

She laughed and then took her leave.

There was nothing exactly like showering in the house you’d grown up in. No matter where you moved or how long you were there, there was just something inherently comforting about the old tiles and ancient shower-head. 

She felt much more awake after the shower, though she was sure the caffeine had done its fair share. She dried her hair, brushed her teeth, and dressed. By the time she was done, the smell of the turkey-bacon and eggs was wafting up to her old room, calling her back down to the kitchen. 

The family was all gathered in the kitchen, setting out plates and glasses. Felicia had put a large pitcher of juice on the table, and Caden seemed to have taken over the bacon. Doris was just sliding into her seat at the right of Sable, putting the pan of eggs down on a hot-pad.

Amanda smiled. Sarek looked severely out of place at the old oak table; a small beacon of dark colors amongst the busy clash of humanity. He was sitting to the right of Sable, so Amanda took up the seat next to him.

“Hello,” she said, smiling. 

“There she is.” Caden finished with the bacon and brought a heaping plate forward, setting it down as he took up his place at the head of the table. 

Felicia took the remaining chair and said, “Let’s dig in.”

Amanda checked to be sure Sarek was good to go—he’d somehow procured a bowl full of cut fruit, instead of bacon—and then began heaping food onto her plate. She spread butter on her toast and then passed it down to Sarek, who copied her without touching his bread. 

As usual, someone had over-peppered the eggs, but it was home, and Amanda couldn’t help but enjoy it. Table talk, for the most part, was dominated by Doris, who was talking about her latest exhibit while Felicia volleyed the majority of the questions. Amanda was pleasantly surprised by Sarek’s contribution, every now and then, as he put his own questions forward.

Felicia, as usual, finished up first, Caden right behind her. Caden started in on the dishes while Felicia began to put things away, much to Sarek’s confusion. He thought, _will they not wait so that we may assist them?_

Amanda bit back a smile. _They’ve always liked jumping the gun._

She didn’t have to explain the phrase to him. When she used it in her mind, the meaning and connotation transferred over through her words. It was a fascinating sensation, which she couldn’t exactly describe even when she began to formulate a way to relay the information to Lee when the Doctor began asking.

“Anyway,” Doris was saying. “How long are you due to stay up here, Amanda?”

“Four or five days,” Amanda said. “Are you working?”

“It’s winter break,” Sable said. “Why would she?”

“Some of us have actual _work_ to do, you know.” Caden said. “I’m supposed to have this table restored before Christmas. Can you believe that? Some people really put the ‘rush’ in rush order.”

Felicia laughed. “As if you don’t enjoy the challenge.” She headed out of the room, tilting her head to indicate that she was listening to Caden’s reply. She was likely heading off to shower and dress, as she’d attended breakfast in her pajamas and robe.

“Challenge is one thing,” Caden called after her. “But this? This is madness.” Still, there was a fond glimmer in his eyes which gave him away—clearly, he was looking forward to the project. “Speaking of, I’d better get out to the garage.” 

Doris said, “To answer your question, no I’m not working. When I heard you were coming down I assumed we could all go shopping. I thought Lee would be with you.”

Amanda glanced up at Sarek from the corner of her eye. “I could stand a shopping trip.” Sarek had work to do, if he didn’t want to go.

“Later,” Doris said. “Sarek, have you ever seen snow before?”

“I have.” He answered. 

“Not much,” Amanda helped. 

“We should all go to the park then,” Doris said. “You two with me and Sable.”

Sable looked delighted. “Oh, yeah! I haven’t been in ages.”

“Ages,” Doris echoed. “Come on, Amanda. You know you want to.”

She’d never been all that enthused about the park, but it was something to show Sarek, at the very least. She hadn’t been since Sable was in high school—four years ago, by her count. Still, she doubted it had changed at all.

Amanda looked up at Sarek. “Your thoughts?” In her head, she poked at their link, saying _they’re talking about Highland park. There’s a pond for ice skating and a fair amount of snow sculptures. It’s a good example of human whims, if nothing else._

In her mind, he replied, _I am admittedly unaccustomed to temperatures as low as the ones exhibited outside of your home. If we are to go, I would prefer not to remain for long._

“We don’t have to stay that long,” she said, out loud.

Sarek nodded. “I would not be adverse to an outing.”

“Cool,” Doris said. “We’ll wait while you two get ready.”

“How about a picnic?” Sable asked.

“We just ate!” Doris protested.

Amanda laughed as she hurried out of the room, Sarek on her heals. She checked from him over her shoulder as she climbed the stairs, to be sure he was following, but she needn’t have worried. She could feel him alongside her in her mind, anyway.

She entered her old room, surprised momentarily by the blazing heat inside. Sarek must have turned the heater all the way up. Sarek crossed behind her and to the bed, where he had left his bags. She retrieved her own things from the neat pile on the floor.

“Do you have any gloves?” 

“No,” Sarek answered.

“You can borrow some of my old ones.” She had accumulated quite the collection from well-meaning relatives who thought that over-sized winter gloves would make perfect presents for the only woman in the house not demanding art supplies. 

She moved over to her closet, where some of her old things remained, and began to rummage.

Sarek had a thick wool hat, two coats, an impressive scarf, thick pants, and boots. She expected him to look like a ridiculous, bundled child by the time he was finished dressing, but was surprised to find that he retained his dignity. 

_Well that’s certainly no fair,_ she thought to herself as she down at her own assemble. _There’s one con to marrying him. I’ll have to dress to the nines if I ever hope to look better than him._

Evidently, he caught the thread of thought, because he raised a brow at her. 

Glittering fabric; she’d have to employ lots of shining, glitzy fabric. And elaborate hairdos. “Not that I would have to look better than you,” she allowed. 

“In this I doubt you would have much difficulty,” he said. 

“Well you certainly are an ambassador, with words like that,” she laughed. She pulled her own scarf up over her head and around her neck, sweating in the oppressive heat of the room. “Shall we?”

The group elected to take two cars. Doris and Sable wanted to stay for a while, and Amanda had no difficulty driving the rental there herself. Sarek came with her, of course, but to her surprise, Sable elected to ride there with them as well.

She wasn’t very talkative—especially around strangers. The majority of the ride to the park was spent in comfortable silence, while Sable tapped on her pad and caught up on homework in the backseat. Amanda had switched the music back over to the classical compositions, favoring Beethoven for Sarek.

When they were about ten minutes away from the park, Sable set her pad aside and looked up at Amanda in the mirror. “Are you two seeing each other?”

Amanda blinked. 

Sarek spoke without even pausing to gather himself. “I had been most interested in the scenery,” he said. “However, yes, I am able to see Amanda presently.”

Amanda snorted out a short laugh and glanced over at Sarek. “Hmm, yes, I see you too, Ambassador.”

Sable nodded her head. “I thought so,” she said, like their step-around had confirmed something. “Doris doesn’t know. Does Dad?”

“We’re not seeing each other, exactly,” Amanda said. “We just met.”

“Does _Mom_ know?”

Amanda sighed. “Sable, I mean it. We’re… acquaintances.”

Sable made a face. 

“Sarek,” Amanda said, “Tell her.”

“While I have asked Amanda to allow me her hand in marriage, she has not yet reached an decision. Our current relationship can be constituted as acquaintances, as she has said.”

Sable flushed. “Well you don’t have to tease me about it. It was an honest mistake,” she said, and pulled her scarf up over her nose and mouth. 

Well then.

They arrived at the park, then. Sable hurried out and started to where she must have known Dorris would be waiting—they had likely texted. They set off on their own after a few words from Sable; Dorris made an odd gesture with her hands at Amanda that translated to ‘ _we talk later._ ’ 

Amanda just barely resisted the urge to sigh. “Let’s walk, shall we?”

Sarek nodded. 

They stood side-by-side and made their way down the shoveled path. It wasn’t too busy out—couples strolled through the snow, and children darted about playing games. The gazebo wasn’t too far away; it would be much busier than any other area, but it was still something she felt Sarek should see. 

“How have you been enjoying my crazy family so far?” Amanda mused.

“They are… unique,” Sarek said.

Amanda cracked a grin. “I know—I can only handle them in small doses or we fight. Still, it’s nice to see them all in person after all this time.” 

“I have noticed you are all very independent of each other, for a human family.”

“I suppose,” she said. “Are Vulcan families more independent?”

“I believe this may be a circumstance in which a human would use the phrase ‘yes and no.’” Sarek put his hands into his pockets. “Vulcan families do not interact in the same way as humans. Before Surak, families were most often all part of one clan, and would live in the same area. After the awakening, there were still some habits and traditions which continued on. The importance of family ties has not diminished, though it has become illogical for one family tree to remain in the same place, when it is unlikely one are will cater to every individual’s focuses in career and study within a single family. While we do not keep up report with our family members, outside our own household, their importance is still paramount. I have not seen my grandmother in fifteen years, however, if she were to send a communication requesting I return to Vulcan immediately, I would do so without question.”

“Fascinating,” Amanda said. “That all makes sense to me, too. It sounds ideal, really.”

“It is illogical to allow bonds to stand in the way of one’s life,” Sarek said, easily.

“I suppose that made coming to Earth a lot easier.”

“It was not easy, nor was it difficult,” he said. “It was merely what was expected of me.”

“And you always do what’s expected of you?” She teased.

He stopped walking and turned to look at her. “Until now,” he said.

“Until now?”

“It is unlikely that anyone expects me to take a human as my wife.”

She felt herself flush despite herself. “Ah. That.”

“Yes, that.” He continued walking. Up ahead the gazebo was coming into view. Just beyond it where ice sculptures and various snow-creatures. “Amanda, if I may be forward with you.”

“You’ve been nothing but,” she said with a slight laugh. She looked over and grinned at his raised brow. “Please, go on.”

“I wonder at your intentions.”

“My intentions?”

“For brining me here,” he clarified. “To your family home. Do you hope to learn more of my person? Or do you seek your family’s blessing? It is not that I do not see the merit in this trip, but I do wonder if you have a point to this.”

“Well.” She paused. “It’s all rather like a long, drawn-out date, don’t you think?”

“Clarify.”

“Well the point of a date is to spend time with a potential spouse, to see if you’re suited to each other.” She paused. “Or at least, that’s how I view it. Different people go on dates for different reasons, of course. For me, though, that’s what it’s about—building a connection.”

“A connection,” he repeated. 

“Rather like the link you’ve made between us.” She smiled. “Us humans can’t just dive into our partner’s head with a touch and see their very thoughts. It takes time to learn how someone thinks, what their character consists of, how you’ll work together. Things like that.”

“I am not human,” he reminded her. “I am able to ‘dive’ into your mind, and you can do the same.”

“It’s more than that,” she tried to explain. “It’s not just thoughts and personality traits, it’s…” she stopped as they reached the gazebo. To her surprise, there weren’t very many people out—only four where actually standing under the structure. 

“It is what?”

She tugged her glove off. Her hand was warm, and she reached up carefully and cupped Sarek’s cheek. His skin was cold to the touch and she smiled as he leaned into her palm, soaking up the heat she offered. “I know it’s not very scientific, but it’s feeling. We could mentally be the two most compatible people in the universe, but for us emotional humans, it’s this. The way I feel when we’re together. What my heart does when I touch you.”

“Your heart rate accelerates when we touch,” he said. “I could have told you this.”

She let out a small, breathy laugh. “Not the organ, dear.” She stepped closer, moving her hand to the back of his neck to thread through his hair. She’d never seen the appeal of the park or the gazebo as romantic locations in the past, but there, and then, with Sarek, she began to understand. “I’m talking about an emotional connection.”

“Vulcans do not form emotional connections,” he lied, quietly, and he leaned down carefully to close the gap between them, his cold, greening lips chastely pressing into her own. 

She put her arms around his neck and stood on her tip-toes, pressing her body flush to his. He removed his hands from his pockets and held her, carefully, and he tilted his head to the side. He deepened the kiss, as she once had, slowly, and carefully. He bit gently at her bottom lip and then pressed another slow, closed-mouthed kiss to the are. He drew back just enough to look at her. 

“Marry me,” he asked, gently.

As close as they were, she could see every variation of brown in his eyes. She could smell the soap he used, and she could feel the heat of his breath. She could feel the fluttering of his pulse beneath the hand she placed at his neck, and she could sense the mental connection between them blown open. He was honest, and earnest, and he _wanted_ , more than any Vulcan should. 

How could she say no? 

“Yes,” she whispered, and drew him down for another scorching kiss. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you like my work, consider checking out my original content [here](https://books2read.com/u/3R1aRn) or follow me [here](https://www.facebook.com/kandersonbooks/)!


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ya'll ready for the smut to drop? 4k of this is straight up sex. If you're not about that life, I suggest you skip this chapter.  
> (ALSO I KNOW IT'S BEEN 100 YEARS SINCE I UPDATED FORGIVE ME)

_ “Marry me,” he asked, gently. _

_ As close as they were, she could see every variation of brown in his eyes. She could smell the soap he used, and she could feel the heat of his breath. She could feel the fluttering of his pulse beneath the hand she placed at his neck, and she could sense the mental connection between them blown open. He was honest, and earnest, and he wanted, more than any Vulcan should.  _

_ How could she say no?  _

_ “Yes,” she whispered, and drew him down for another scorching kiss. _

* * *

 

They made their way back to the ice sculptures. Amanda was certain she was giving Sarek an emotionally charged headache with all the different things running through her head. She couldn’t believe she’d said she’d marry him. She couldn’t believe it had taken her so long. How was this happening? How would it progress? Andhow was she supposed to keep her hands off of him now that they were official? 

He eyed her as they walked. She managed not to blush as she stared steadily onwards.

“There are, of course, details I must disclose to you,” he’d said, but she’d told him to save it for later. Everything was moving a little fast, and she needed time to let the reality of the situation sink in.

They still had a several days left with Amanda’s family, and she figured they would provide a good blockade when it came to getting too involved too fast. Not that she could get any more involved—married was pretty much the largest leap she could take. 

And she’d probably have to tell her family at some point. 

… Or, she could sneak off-planet with Sarek and elope on Vulcan and let them know in a year or five. She could always digitally alter any wedding photos to make them look recent. 

Except Sarek was kind of famous, and as his wife, she was going to be in the limelight, too. 

Her family didn’t really watch the news.

But how long until someone who _did_ keep up with politics stopped by to wish them congratulations? 

“Amanda,” Sarek said. “You are being unreasonable.”

“This might be a good time for you to keep out of my head, husband dear,” she said with a good-natured smile. “I’m afraid there is little reason to be found up there in times like these.”

He raised a brow but did not question her further. Amanda spotted Sable and Doris, then, and jogged forward to catch them. They were hovering around a rather impressive snow lion, talking between themselves as they sipped at recyclable cups of hot chocolate. 

Amanda looked up at Sarek. “How do you feel about having them for sisters?”

He simply looked at her.

Amanda cracked a grin. “Its your own fault, you know, for asking.”

“I suppose it is,” he said. 

They spent the remainder of the day with Sable and Doris. They left the park rather early on, as Sarek was beginning to grow cold. When they got home, they watched old-earth movies and threw popcorn at the screen, much to Sarek’s confusion. Amanda told him it was their tradition, and that she’d always thought it was messy and gross, too, but that there was no stopping them. By the time dinner rolled around, Amanda could feel the link in her head fading away. She told herself not to be sad about it; once she married Sarek, she’d always have that tie-in to his thoughts. She needed to take advantage of having her head to herself while she could.

The very thought was silly to her. If someone had asked her a year ago if she’d agree to let someone into her mind, she would have been certain when she said no. Now, though, she found there was something right about it. Something good. Something in it that she wanted, more than anything else. 

Maybe that something was just Sarek, plain and simple.

Amanda had a difficult time staying focussed throughout the meal. She couldn’t stop looking at Sarek out of the corner of her eye. He was handsome in such an odd way; sharp, and strong, and certain. She wanted to run her fingers through his dorky bowl-cut and study the deep brown of his eyes. She wanted to kiss him.

What was stopping her? She realized, suddenly, that there was no reason not to kiss him. She licked her lips to hide a would-be smile and then dropper her right hand under the table.

So maybe she was a grown adult, but the inclination was too strong to simply ignore. She reached slowly for Sarek, who has his hands folded on his lap as he listened to Caden as the older man started in on an after-dinner anecdote. Amanda had heard this one plenty of times before, and she knew Sarek was capable of multitasking.

She hooked her pinky into the sleeve of Sarek’s left hand and pulled him close to her. He did not outwardly react, but his fingers twitched. She pretended to listen to her father as she slowly ran her fingers across Sarek’s. 

She couldn’t help but imagine the two of them as teenagers. Her, with her huge curly hair and braces, and Sarek, calm, cool, and tenderly young. She pictured them pressed lip to lip, faces flushed. Her parents and sisters, talking at the table top, completely oblivious to the two of them.

Amanda looked at Sarek out of the corner of her eye again. His cheeks had turned a faint green, to Amanda’s delight. She continued to kiss him gently, running her fingers up and down, back and forth.

Sarek curled his fingers up, catching hers on the back-draw. Despite herself, Amanda felt a shudder course through her form. She could feel herself blushing and hoped that no one noticed.

She swallowed heavily as Sarek ran his fingerpads between her fingers, brushing, simmering, his hands alien warm. She could feel the curl of his psyche around her thoughts; scarlet red and spiced, tasting like the winds on Vulcan. Her stomach fell with the sensation of it. She had no idea how to veil the wall of lust that came spinning from her mind.

“Well.”

Amanda snapped back to herself at her father’s sudden rise in volume. She carefully took her hand back.

“I think I’m going to bed,” Caden continued, oblivious. “Felicia?”

“It’s late,” she agreed, standing. Their chairs scraped loudly over the ground as they both moved around the table. “We’ll be leaving for the farmer’s market over in Sparwood early in the morning, so we won’t see you when we get up. But we’ll catch you for dinner tomorrow night, right?”

“Yes,” Amanda said. “How about I take us out to eat?”

Felicia smiled. “Oh, you don’t have to do that.”

Amanda grinned. _With the bomb I’m planning to drop on you, it’s the least I can do…_ “No, I insist. Tomorrow night. Let’s all go to Suhiro.” It was Felicia’s favorite place to go; it was a fancy restaurant with kosher sushi.Caden wasn’t all that fond of the sushi, but he liked the chicken.

“Ooh, Suhiro! That sounds great.” 

Amanda stood. At the other end of the table, her sisters were giggling over some whispered secret, but Amanda ignored them. “Goodnight, mom. Night, Dad.”

“Goodnight, sweetheart,” Caden said. 

Felicia nodded at Sarek. “Goodnight, Ambassador.”

Sarek inclined his head.

Her parents left them. Amanda sat back down, her stomach fluttering with butterflies as she noted the way Sarek repositioned himself just a bit closer to her. She reached for her tea with her left hand, noting the slight tremor in her fingers—psychic feedback, or lust, she wasn’t sure. 

She slipped her hand back into his discretely beneath the table. Sparks shot up her arm as Sarek caressed her palm. She wanted nothing more than to turn and meet his lips, but she knew they had to put up with pleasantries until Doris and Sable decided to go to sleep. 

Though Amanda knew that at that time, she and Sarek would have to go their own separate ways.

… Or did they?

Once the idea entered her head, Amanda couldn’t expel it. There was no reason not to be alone with Sarek. She was going to marry him, after all. And as much as it pained her to think it, she couldn’t help but replay something Lee had said to her one too many times: “ _don’t buy the product without a test drive!_ ” Which, by itself, was innocuous enough, but paired with Lee’s stupid wink, was hard to dismiss. 

Sarek hooked his middle and ring finger around the curve of her pinky and drew his touch slowly across her skin. Amanda wondered if her stupid sisters would ever leave.

Nothing like speeding things along, right?

“I’m tired too,” Amanda said, interrupting Doris and Sable. “It's bed time."

"Already?" Doris asked. "Don't you want dessert?"

_ I'll be having mine once you leave, thank you very much _ . "We've all had enough sweets for the day. I think I’m going to go upstairs.”

“You don’t want to come home with us?” Doris pouted.

“I can’t just abandon Sarek,” she laughed. 

“Aw, just for tonight?” Sable begged. She didn’t meet Sarek’s eye.

“Maybe tomorrow,” Amanda said. “I’m not in the mood to stay up watching more movies with you two anyway.”

“Fine then,” Doris stuck out her tongue. “We’ll go home and finish the marathon without you. Traitor.”

“You have fun with that,” Amanda laughed. She stood up, starting for the stairs. She could feel Sarek’s eyes on her back and willed her face not to heat. “See you two tomorrow,” she called over her shoulder. 

“See ya!” Doris called back.

Amanda concentrated on the stairs. Just behind her was Sarek, and she could have sworn she could hear his breathing. She made it to the second story and heard the front door open and close downstairs, signifying that her sisters had left.

Amanda started towards her room. “Would you mind if I kept you a while longer, Ambassador?” she asked him. She didn’t dare turn to look at him. 

“You may keep me as long as you like, Amanda,” Sarek said, softly.

She nearly missed the doorknob, but managed to swing the door open. Inside, the room was already stifling—eight damn degrees, at the very least. Amanda began to peel off her sweater just as the door closed. 

She paused. She could feel Sarek watching her and turned, looking into his eyes as she finished pulling her outermost layer off. Her hair felt staticy when it was gone. She dropped the sweater onto the ground and smoothed out her ponytail, very conscious of the way Sarek’s eyes swept over the flesh of her neck, and face. He took a step forward and began to take off his coat. 

“I’ve had a good day with you,” Amanda nervously mumbled. 

“And I you,” Sarek said. “I feel we make a very good match.”

She flushed at the praise. “Thank you, Sarek.” She backed up a step and sat down on the edge of the bed. “Was I distracting you during dinner?”

“Yes.” He approached her. Looming over her, he reached down in asking. 

Amanda met him half-way, sliding their fingers together in the ozh’esta. She shivered. 

“Come here,” she said quietly, and leaned forward, leading with her jaw. From under half-lidded eyes, she watched Sarek kneel before her, leaning in to kiss her mouth.

She sunk her free hand into the hair at the back of his neck, closing her eyes as she leaned into the kiss. She opened her mouth, momentarily shocked by just how hot his was. He tasted strongly of copper, and of the tea they’d drank that evening. His tongue was raspy as it soothed hers; almost like that of a cat. A whimper escaped her, somehow, and Sarek caught it between his teeth.

“Amanda,” he breathed. “Ashayam.”

He held her jaw carefully, surging forward to deepen the kiss. He was careful, but strong; smoldering like the embers of a fire. She felt him down to her very bones, and kissed him with a desperation she’d never felt so intensely before. She put a hand on his chest and almost startled back when he hand encountered bare skin—the tempting slit in the face of his shirt. She slipped her hand inside, exploring the flesh there, thoughts a jumbled race.

He parted from her with a low noise and methodically began to divest himself of his shirt. Amanda colored. “You don’t have to—“

“I felt your desire. Do you wish me not to?”

She swallowed and looked at her lap. “Proceed,” she said, laughing lightly.

He did. 

It wasn’t fair. Truly, it wasn’t. He was so gorgeous that he seemed unreal. His clavicles cut shadows into his skin, his torso was lean and just barely toned. There was a dark trail of hair leading to his trousers, and unthinkingly, she reached out to run her hand through it.

Sarek took in a deep breath of air. “Amanda—“

“I know,” she said, nonsensically. She dragged him back up to her mouth for another scorching kiss, moaning quietly against his lips. _I know._

He moved his palms up and down the sides of her thighs. His body heat seeped through her jeans and to her skin. Amanda reached down and flicked the button open, and then pulled down the zipper. Sarek’s hands moved higher, pushing just barely under the edges of her shirt. He could feel through the link created by their touch what she desired, but he went slow in asking. 

Amanda grabbed the hem of her shirt and pulled it up over her head, tossing it somewhere into the dim. 

Sarek kissed her neck. He ran his hands up and down her upper arms while she threaded hers into his hair, disheveling his careful arrangement. His hair was actually slightly curly, she discovered; much to her delight. She leaned into him and kissed at the tip of his pointed ear, shuddering out a long sigh when he bit carefully at her throat. 

“Is this too fast?” she wondered out loud.

He pulled back. His irises were nearly completely eclipsed by his blown pupils. “No,” he said, seriously. He moved back to her throat. “However, if you believe it is, we can—“

“I don’t think it’s too fast.” She felt like she’d been wanting him for a life time.

Sarek stood. He began to undo the fastenings of his trousers. Amanda pushed her jeans off, scooting back in bed as she went, and then watched as Sarek’s body was revealed.

He wore no underwear, and her eyes immediately went to his cock—admittedly curious. It was very much like a human’s, though it was flushed green and seemed to have two ridges of sorts. It wasn’t too intimidating in size, for which she was grateful. She felt her mouth begin to water and mentally shook herself. She had to be tasteful about all this, didn’t she?

Oh, what the hell, he’d seen her mind. She surged up to meet him in a kiss and pulled him down on top of her, one hand in his hair, the other snaking around to palm his ass. It was pleasantly supple, and firm. She squeezed it and laughed at his cool expression. 

“Does that bother you?”

“No,” he said. “My body is yours to explore. You are she who is to be my wife.”

Amanda grinned into his throat, kissing him gently. “Wife,” she said. “I like that.” That aside, she very much enjoyed his ass, and treated herself to another handful. He moved against her, member leaking against her thigh. 

“Want me to take my bra off?” she asked. She pulled back to look at him.

His cheeks were stained green. “That would please me, yes.”

She laughed a little bit and reached behind herself to release the clips. She pulled it off her arms and slung it away from the bed, falling back into the sheets and looking up at Sarek, gauging him as he admired her form.

He dipped his head and nipped at the side of her breast. She choked on a gasp and ached into his touch, biting her bottom lip as his tongue soothed over the area. She had never been much of a pillow princess, but she found herself content to lay back and allow Sarek to explore.

He supported himself on his elbow and moved his mouth to her nipple, sucking and biting and laving at it with his tongue. His free hand played at her other breast, just as curious as he was pleasurable. Amanda continued to card her hands through his hair as he lavished her with affections; all teeth and hot tongue and soft lips. She looked up as he suddenly began to move lower, slinking down her body with open-mouthed kissed, ending at her underwear. He looked up at her, eyes dark.

“You can take them off,” she breathed. 

He hooked his thumbs in the band of her boxers and began to draw them down her legs. Amanda lifted her hips to assist him, watching at he backed up and then stared at her, eyes glowing in the light lent in through her window.

She supposed she must have been alien to him, too. She spread her legs, face beat red, and tried to feel for his reaction. He must have liked what he saw, because he knelt on the edge of the bed and, taking her ankles in hand, hauled her down towards him.

She laughed as she let him pull her closer. “Sarek!” She clapped a hand over her mouth. “Sarek,” she repeated, much quieter. She couldn’t believe she was doing this while he parents were in the house; she felt like a randy teen all over again. 

Amanda felt much less like a teen when Sarek’s mouth met her. There was the difference; this wasn’t bumbling first time shenanigans. He knew exactly what he was doing. 

“Oh, _Ofereiksu—_ “ 

Sarek mouthed against her sex, laving at her clit with his tongue. Amanda wondered, briefly, how different she must have been from Vulcan women, when it seemed very much that he knew what he was doing. His fingers parted her, allowing his mouth better access. He drew her clit between his lips and sucked at it as he massaged it with the tip of his tongue.

She _had_ to marry him.

“Sarek,” she breathed. She fisted a hand in his hair, keeping him in place. She felt a spark of his pleasure travel through her skin when she tugged at his hair, so she did it again. She could feel that he enjoyed it. 

Sarek’s fingers slipped down. He entered her with his middle finger and index, careful. He crooked his fingers, careful of his nails. 

“I have a hard time getting wet,” Amanda told him. “But there should be lubricant in the end table.”

He drew out of her and used his fingers to stimulate her clit while he pulled back to speak to her. “Vulcan women are much the same. It is fortunate, then, that Vulcan males are naturally self-lubricating.” 

Amanda propped herself up on her elbows and glanced down at his member. Sure enough, it was glittering with moisture, drooling on his thigh. She smiled at him. “We’ll have to get tested to be sure I’m compatible with your secretions,” she said. “But I think that will do quite nicely for us in the future.”

“We are indeed quite compatible,” he said. He reached for the end table posted by the bed and pulled the drawer out. Amanda’s old secret stash of condoms and lube was still inside, nestled away in an old jewelry box. Amanda moved to help him, checking the expiration date on the condoms, while Sarek applied a generous dollop of lube to his fingers. 

“Still good,” Amanda cheered. 

“Excellent.” Sarek put a hand on her chest and gently pushed her back onto the bed. “Allow me to continue my ministrations.”

“Oh, please, don’t stop on my account.” He laugh was cut short by his fingers penetrating her again. With the addition of the lubrication, they slid easily inside her. Amanda bit back a moan, tossing her head back against the mattress, as Sarek buried his face between her legs again. 

She looked down at him as he began to tease her with his mouth. His eyes watched her, hungry and cat like. She tightened around his fingers and watched his eyelids flutter; his hands were very sensitive. It was bizarrely erotic to see the dark green of his tongue against the pink of her pussy. She put her hand on the side of his jaw, playing idly with his ears. He leaned into her touch, crooking his fingers inside her.

Amanda swallowed. “You’re good at that,” she whispered.

His only reply was to continue his efforts. Amanda felt her legs shaking and put her hand back in his hair, half-sitting up and spreading her legs wider for him. He changed the angle of his wrist and paused to breathe for a short moment, breath warm against her sex, before moving his mouth back to her clit. He flicked at it with his tongue, then rubbed, back and forth, a quick rhythm that matched the pace of his fingers. She tensed around his fingers.

“Sarek—“

He pushed in deeper, just a little harder, and sucked hard. Amanda threw her head back and let out a whimper as she came, tugging desperately at his hair, clenching his head hard between her thighs. She went boneless in the next minute, falling back on the mattress and releasing Sarek. He pulled his fingers out of her and wiped the stickiness of them on her thigh, writing Vulcan script idly with his fingertips. 

Amanda took a minute to catch her breath. 

“Are you pleased, Ashayam?”

“Mmmhmm,” she closed her eyes for a second and breathed deeply. The bed dipped next to her as Sarek moved to sit beside her. She opened her eyes and took in the sight of his back; a long, beautiful expanse of green-tinted skin.

She reached out and ran her hand down his spine. He turned his head and watched her.

Amanda sat up. She moved around Sarek, corralling him back into the bed, so that she was kneeling on the sheets before him, legs on either side of her body. She looked at his cock, standing hard and green against his stomach, and reached down to touch the hot liquid that had seeped onto his legs. 

“You’re very wet,” she teased him, gently.

He raised a brow at her. 

“Would you mind if I gave you a blow job, Sarek, my love?”

“It is not a Vulcan practice.”

“You perform cunnilingus on your women on Vulcan, but the men don’t receive oral sex? Sarek, that is a shame.” 

“The male most often achieves orgasm through penetrative sex.”

“All in due time,” Amanda said with a clever grin. “I’ll repeat myself: would you mind if I gave you a blow job?”

“I would not ‘mind’ in the least. I am yours to do with as you please.”

“You certainly know how to charm a woman,” she laughed. She sat up on her knees and pulled her hair out of its confines, as several strands of it had worked free. She pulled it all back again so that it would not be hanging in her face. Sarek watched her, eyes skipping from her hands, to her biceps, to her face, to her breasts. He leaned forward, curling one hand around her hip, and took her nipple into his mouth. 

She hummed in delight, holding his head for a moment, letting him pleasure her. “My turn,” she said, eventually, and gently drew him away from her. She crowded him against the wall her bed was posted against, leaning down to kiss his mouth. He tasted of her, and she smiled against his lips. She bit at his bottom lip, gently, and drew back, watching them mark turn green and then pale again. 

She scooted back and leaned down, gripping his cock in her hand. He was very wet, and very hot. His juices leaked over her closed fist as she pumped him, the smell heady and masculine—he smelled almost tangy, like copper; there was no salty trace of human in his smell, no sweat. 

She leaned down and closed her mouth around the tip of his cock, careful of her teeth. It wasn’t a good taste, but it was not bad, either. It reminded her faintly of the bitter after-taste in over-steeped black tea. She swirled her tongue around the tip, testing. Sarek groaned and tilted his head back against the wall.

He sought out her hand, blindly. She kissed him with her fingers, tangling them together in a loose embrace. She braced herself against his hip with her forearm and watched him grab a fist full of covers as she applied suction to his cock. She had to fight not to smile. 

It had been an admittedly long time since Amanda had last given oral. She couldn’t take him all that deep for fear of gagging, but Sarek didn’t seem to be inclined to complain. What she couldn’t fit in her mouth she stimulated with her closed fist. His dick wept in her mouth, forcing her to swallow time and again, but it was no where nearly as unpleasant as seamen. She would almost say she was warming up to the flavor. Her jaw began to ache, as did her neck, from bobbing her head, but she ignored it. The sounds she was drawing out of Sarek made it completely worth it in every way. The head of his dick seemed to be most sensitive, and on each up-stroke of her mouth she stopped to press at the slit and underside with her tongue, causing his stomach to tighten and his mouth to drop open.

“Amanda,” he breathed. “I should warn you that I’m about to orgasm.”

She almost wanted to laugh. She looked up at him, knowingly, and continued to bob her head up and down, swallowing back his cock. She was curious as to what his spunk would be like, as odd as it sounded. 

She drew up and sucked hard on the head, rubbing it hard with her tongue. Sarek bucked into her mouth and made a low moan in the back of his throat. He came into her mouth, fluids scorching and bitter. Amanda swallowed quickly—she had been overly optimistic about the flavor, even if it wasn’t completely terrible.

She drew off of him. His wetness was seeping down her chin and coating her hand. “One second.” She stood and walked quickly to the hamper near her door, pulling the towel from her shower that morning out to wipe herself clean with. She brought it back the bed and mopped up the mess on Sarek’s legs, watching her lax face. His eyelids were closed and fluttering. He had such long lashes—God, he was beautiful.

“Are you alright, Sarek?”

He opened his eyes and leaned forward, kissing her with an open mouth. He licked into her, seemingly chasing his own taste. She moaned and folded against him, falling onto his thigh. She rocked against him, gently, and groaned when he lifted his leg so she could better ride against it.

She pulled away from his mouth and buried her face in his neck.

“What’s the typical refractory period for a Vulcan?”

“Two standard minutes.”

Amanda’s eyes widened. “Truly?”

“Vulcans rarely mate,” he said. “It is important that one be able to make multiple attempts in a short span of time for this reason.”

“Are you sure you’re not trying to seduce me right now?” She wrapped her arms around his shoulders, holding him to her as she gently rocked against him.

He held her back, gently. “I had assumed I had already seduced you. Was my technique lacking?”

“Do you think I’d be naked in your arms if that was the case?”

“I am merely being certain to collect all the facts.”

“The facts are that I have been very thoroughly seduced by you, Sarek, and that I would very much like to have sex with you, now, if you’re amenable.” 

“I am more than amenable.” 

She breathed out a laugh. “You’re something, aren’t you?” It was nonsensical, and he did not answer here, but she felt he understood. 

Amanda reached back to where she’d dropped the line of condoms earlier and took one from its wrapper, neatly rolling it onto his hardening cock. Sarek leaned forward and pulled the lube from where he’d dropped it into the sheets, handing it to her. She kissed the tip of his nose in thanks and applied a small amount of lubrication to his erection, breathing heavily in anticipation. 

She rose off of his thigh and swung her leg over his, so that she was straddling him. Amanda took hold of Sarek’s cock to align it with her entrance and slowly sunk onto him. It was a bit of a stretch, but not painful—he’d fingered her thoroughly enough to ensure that there was no discomfort. She groaned, leaning her forehead into Sarek’s as she seated herself in his lap, marveling at the feel of him. 

She wrapped her arms around his shoulders. She kissed him as his hands snaked up to take hold of her hips. She could have stayed in that moment forever, were it not for the lust urging her to move. 

Slowly, Amanda began to rock her hips, getting a feel of it. The drag of his erection inside of her was exquisite. She swallowed hard and began to ride him in earnest, rising up and down in his lap, petting his hair and smiling a little when his eyes darted down to watch the bounce of her breasts each time she came down onto him. 

Sweat trickled down her back and built behind her knees. Sarek traced the moisture down her spine with a finger, causing Amanda to shudder. He felt so, so good. Sarek rolled his hips to meet her, sliding deeper than before. Amanda groaned and mashed their lips together. Sarek began to snap his hips up hard, nearly lifting her off the bed with each stroke. She suddenly remembered that Vulcan’s had three times a human’s strength.

“Like that,” she whispered. 

Her head rolled back as he picked up a quick and sinuous tempo, sliding in deep and quick and drawing nearly all the way out again each time after. Amanda hissed through her teeth as Sarek leaned forward to draw her breast into his mouth again. He bit her nipple. She wined. 

Sarek reached between them and used his middle finger to rub her clit as he continued to piston into her. She gasped at the sensation—she never came from penetration alone, and had expected their second round to simply be for fun, but she realized, suddenly, that she was probably going to cum a second time. Her hips jerked, out of sync with Sarek. He grabbed her hipbone and held her in line, continuing to stimulate her sex.

She kissed the crown of his head, tugging at the hair at the back of his neck. He groaned against her chest and leaned up to chase her lips, eyes a dark shoulder in the dark. She kissed him tactlessly, all teeth and tongue and desperate passion.

Her orgasm took her nearly by surprise. She let out a cut-off cry and bowed over him, shaking through it. He continued to penetrate her, quick and deep, as she shuddered through the aftershocks. 

She felt nearly dizzy with pleasure. She blinked down at Sarek and pressed a closed-mouth kiss against his greening lips. “Sarek,” she whispered, voice downed an octave. 

He spasmed, suddenly, and then groaned, head gently thudding back against the wall. He still inside her, cock throbbing as he came. Amanda let out a soundless laugh and kissed his throat, waiting a moment to catch her breath before climbing off of him. She took the condom from his member and tied it neatly, dropping it in the wastebasket next to the end table, and then used her towel to clean the both of them up.

She laid down, head on her old pillows, and stared up at the ceiling, unseeing. This wasn’t just a one time, mind-blowing sex session. She was marrying Sarek. They were going to be able to have sex whenever they wanted. She could hardly believe her luck. 

She looked over as Sarek climbed down into the blankets next to her. He held his arm out, to which she raised a brow in question.

“Humans require physical comfort for their wellbeing.”

Ah, so he wanted to cuddle her in the afterglow. That was fine by her. She smiled and slipped over to him, laying her head on his chest as she curled into his side. He held her with one arm, his hand idly stroking at her side.

She looked up at him from beneath her lashes as she settled in. The green was quickly fading from his face. She almost missed it. He looked down at her, catching her staring.

“Can you meld us?” she asked, quietly.

He reached for her face, in answer, gently slipping into her mind and creating a link. His contentment and pleasure spilled into her, warm and sweet like the smell of baking bread. She sighed happily against his skin, soaking in the feel of his mind. There was nothing like it. Nothing like him.

“I think I’m falling in love with you,” she whispered. She didn’t look up at him to see his reaction, trusting their bond to tell her what he was thinking. She hadn’t been worried about her confession, per se, but she hadn’t expected it to make him so… happy. She smiled and held to him, pulling the blankets up over his body while she remained outside, so as not to overheat. She could get used to this. She _wanted_ to get used to this.

“It is only logical to treasure one’s spouse,” Sarek said, voice deep and vibrating in his chest. 

“Husband,” she toned, happily. “It sounds nice, doesn’t it?”

“It does.”

It was not long before they were both asleep. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you like my work, consider checking out my original content [here](https://books2read.com/u/3R1aRn) or follow me [here](https://www.facebook.com/kandersonbooks/)!


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